‘My Vision of India: 2047’: fixing pressing issues must take precedence over ‘lofty planning’, says Prof. Mehta

Addressing poverty, authoritarianism, communalism, and ecological degradation must take precedence over “lofty planning” exercises in India as the country approaches its centenary of Independence, noted political thinker Professor Pratap Bhanu Mehta said on Sunday.

Delivering the D.S. Borker Lecture on ‘My Vision of India: 2047 A.D.’ at an event chaired by renowned journalist Harish Khare, Prof. Mehta cautioned against complacency in imagining the nation’s future. He observed that while multiple ‘Vision 2047’ blueprints already exist, they often overlook pressing challenges.

Prof. Mehta outlined three guiding perspectives: relieving human suffering, attaining developed nation status through visionary leadership, and upholding constitutional values of liberty, equality, and fraternity.

Elaborate plans, he said, are inadequate if issues such as poverty, communalism, authoritarianism, and ecological devastation remain unaddressed. A major concern raised was the collapse of sincerity, shared facts, and reasoned debate in civic life. Mr. Mehta said that without restoring these foundations, democracy cannot flourish.

Civilisational crisis

The lecture lamented the erosion of India’s civilisational sensibility. Reducing civilisation to mere power structures robs it of its philosophical and spiritual richness, Prof. Mehta said. Terming the rise of Hindutva nationalism the “single greatest assault”, Prof. Mehta said it shrinks India’s universal civilisational identity into an ethnic framework and discards its universal spiritual codes.

On governance, he flagged the limits of party competition, which is increasingly driven by partisanship and contradictions. Mr. Mehta pitched for a new institutional framework that fosters negotiation and problem-solving rather than conflict.

Prof. Mehta urged India to complete the unfinished projects of the freedom movement, including independence and self-determination. He called for India to become a node in a just world order, and suggested reimagining South Asia as a unified space to reduce vulnerabilities and counter external pressures.

Prof. Mehta defined spirituality as the ability to perceive and act upon the world objectively, with consciousness at its core. By 2047, he hoped, India would embody Sat-Chit-Anand – truth, consciousness, and bliss – signifying a nation that has met its aspirations with dignity and depth.