India completes 50 years of independence this year, and if an evaluation was to be attempted of these first 50 years of India as an independent nation, several major achievements stand out prominently. Firstly, India has established a genuine tradition of democracy, which permits the system to absorb shocks of various kinds in a healthy and stable manner. Secondly, the recently enacted 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution of India provide a basis for carrying democracy to a greater level of participation, by creating the institutional structure for the practice of democracy and governance at the most basic grassroots level. Another major achievement during these first 50 years has been the maturing of the Indian economy with significant progress in agriculture, industry and the service sector. However, a rigidly controlled public sector based management of the infrastructure sectors has led to several weaknesses having developed in this segment of the economy. An even more serious weakness is the cumulative degradation and depletion of the country's natural resources, which are critical for ensuring the well-being of future generations, not to speak of the present generation itself. The model of development adopted by India after independence largely imitated western examples, and while heavy industry and urbanization were inevitable, the manner in which these have taken place have imposed a very heavy burden on the environment and on the health of key natural resources passed on to us by those who fought for the country's freedom.