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The Indian Eye
COVER STORY AUGUST 21, 2026 5

capacity and faster improvements in
living standards. Growth has to be-
come more employment-intensive
and more evenly distributed.
India at 80 is therefore no longer
asking whether it can grow. It is ask-
ing whether growth can become suffi-
ciently broad, productive and inclusive
to transform the lives of all Indians.
A modern reach
ndia’s cultural influence has per-
haps expanded in ways few could
Ihave predicted in 1947.
Bollywood has become a global
cultural industry. Indian music, cui-
sine, fashion and television have trav- India’s economy is now driven not only by agriculture and manufacturing but increasingly by services, technology,
elled across continents. Yoga, Ayurve-
da and Indian spiritual traditions have finance and a huge domestic consumer market (ANI photo)
acquired international audiences,
while Indian festivals are increasingly frontiers of space science. pionship victory, reflects a new gener- The Ministry of External Affairs
celebrated outside the country. Chandrayaan-3’s successful ation growing up in a more competi- estimates the overseas Indian pop-
The global recognition of Indi- landing in 2023 made India the first tive sporting ecosystem. ulation at more than 35.4 million,
an cultural traditions is reflected in country to land near the lunar south Cricket, meanwhile, has become a comprising NRIs and people of In-
UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Her- pole. Aditya-L1, India’s first dedi- global Indian asset. India’s 2024 men’s dian origin. The community is spread
itage list. India’s entries include yoga, cated solar mission, is studying the T20 World Cup victory reinforced its across virtually every major region of
Kumbh Mela, Durga Puja, Garba, Sun from the Sun-Earth L1 point. Its dominance in the sport, while the the world, from North America and
Vedic chanting and, most recently, observations have already produced growth of the Indian Premier League Europe to the Gulf, Africa, Southeast
Deepavali. UNESCO lists 16 Indian new insights into solar phenomena, transformed cricket into a major en- Asia and the Caribbean.
elements on the Representative List. including coronal mass ejections and tertainment and business industry. Their economic importance is
Yoga is an especially powerful ex- geomagnetic storms. The transformation is increasingly enormous. India remained the world’s
ample of India’s cultural reach. UN- India’s technology transforma- visible in women’s sport. India’s wom- largest recipient of remittances, with
ESCO inscribed it on the Represen- tion is equally visible on Earth. Dig- en athletes and teams have challenged inflows reaching $135.4 billion in FY25.
tative List in 2016, noting its spread ital public infrastructure, online pay- old assumptions about who represents But the diaspora’s importance ex-
and practice across societies around ments, Aadhaar, mobile connectivity the country on the sporting stage. tends beyond money.
the world. and India’s expanding startup ecosys- India beyond its borders Indian-origin political leaders
But India’s cultural story is not tem have created a model that is at- have reached the highest levels of
simply about exporting tradition. It tracting international attention. erhaps the most remarkable government in several countries. In-
is also about negotiating the relation- The country’s innovation rank- change in India’s relationship dian-origin scientists and technology
ship between tradition and modernity. ing has also improved. The Economic Pwith the outside world is the professionals have played prominent
India’s film industry has moved Survey notes that India’s Global Inno- transformation of its diaspora. roles in global companies and uni-
from black-and-white social dramas vation Index ranking rose from 66th Indians and people of Indian or- versities. Diaspora communities have
to streaming platforms and global in 2019 to 38th in 2025. Ten semicon- igin are no longer viewed primarily also helped deepen India’s diplomatic,
productions. Indian authors write for ductor manufacturing and packaging as migrants seeking economic oppor- commercial and cultural connections.
international audiences. Indian de- projects had been approved across six tunity. They have become business India at 80 is difficult to define in
signers and chefs have become global states, involving around ₹1.60 lakh leaders, scientists, academics, doctors, a single sentence. That is why the 80th
figures. Regional cinema has acquired crore of investment. politicians, entrepreneurs and cultur- Independence Day should be viewed
unprecedented visibility. A sporting ambition al ambassadors. less as a finish line than as a milestone.
At the same time, India’s cultural
bilities. The challenge is to preserve F or decades, Indian sport was
diversity remains its greatest asset and
one of its most complicated responsi-
synonymous
with
cricket.
Cricket remains enormously
hundreds of languages, traditions, art important, but the sporting landscape
forms and local identities while allow- has changed.
ing culture to evolve. India’s athletes have increasingly
From the margins to the frontier demonstrated that excellence is pos-
sible across disciplines. At the Paris
ew areas better illustrate In- Olympics, Manu Bhaker became a
dia’s transformation than sci- major national sporting figure, while
Fence and technology. Neeraj Chopra continued India’s rise
In the early years after indepen- in athletics. Indian badminton, wres-
dence, science was associated primarily tling, shooting, boxing and hockey
with nation-building — dams, labora- have also expanded their internation-
tories, atomic energy, agricultural re- al presence.
search and space exploration. Institu- Chess has become another sym-
tions created during those decades laid bol of India’s sporting transformation.
the foundations for later breakthroughs. The rise of young players, culminating Cricket has become a global Indian asset (ANI photo)
Today, India is operating at the in Gukesh Dommaraju’s world cham-

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