'Time' brings out special cover on booming India

NEW DELHI: Time magazine has come out with a special cover to mark the 60th anniversary of India's independence, noting that the world's largest democracy is 'living up to the dreams of 1947' when it got freedom.

The issue has articles that look at the country's middle-class, religion, politics and the transformation of its economy, besides a write-up profiling the conflicts, trends and turning points that shaped modern India.

In an article, noted writer William Dalrymple, the author of 'The Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty, Delhi 1857', says India's rise is not a 'miraculous novelty' as depicted by the Western media and that it is a return to traditional global trade patterns.

He argues that 'the idea that India is a poor country is a relatively recent one' as 'historically, South Asia was always famous as the richest region of the globe'.

The magazine, in its cover story 'India Charges Ahead', notes that the country faces challenges the size of an elephant but the world's largest democracy is living up to the dreams of 1947.

"Twenty years ago the rest of the world saw India as a pauper. Now it is just as famous for its software engineers, Bollywood movie stars, literary giants and steel magnates," one article says.