When India got freedom from the British rule the people of India really had a big dream to form their own government and achieve an all round development in the country. The constitution was drafted adopting a democratic system of government ensuring the participation of all without any kind of discrimination. The establishment of democratic government at the federal and regional level was to ascertain the equitable sharing of resources among all citizens and the protection of basic rights of all and in order to achieve these objectives the government was directed to take various measures under the constitution.

After the independence the democratically elected governments were formed at the center and in the states and tried to achieve the planned development of the country and substantially succeeded in it. When we examine the development in India we can understand that we have really done a lot for the development of our nation. Our democracy has strengthened in course of time and similarly our development too. India is now self sufficient in many respects particularly in food and basic necessities and is also able to export these items to other countries.

We have achieved tremendous success in the field of technology, industry, communication and telecommunication. We have made bridges, roads, railways and ensured electricity and water supplies to most of our wide spread villages. In medical field too we have made a good achievement. But can these achievements be called a right development?

The development of a society or country does not mean that the main benefit of it goes to a few and the rest are getting only marginal benefits. This type of development is a vertical development in which a few get all the advantage of the development while the majority is benefited only marginally. In India we are witnessing this type of development. Actually, good development is that where every one or most of the people in a society get the real and substantial benefit of the development. That type of development is horizontal development in which every body gets equitable advantage out of it. Any country or society can claim itself to be developed only if it achieves the horizontal development assuring the substantial benefit of it to all.

India is developing but the real benefit of the developments goes to a very limited number of its citizens while the rest are satisfied only with a fraction of it. The statement ‘India is shining but Bharat is drowning’ is appropriately used for the kind of development India is going for. Five to ten percent of Indians are doing well at all levels and are able to get the maximum advantage of our development. A little few more may also be able to live nicely but the remaining 70 to 80 percent of our people are still struggling for their basic necessities with a very subsistence income.