India @ 64 - A visual chronology of post-Independence India

August 15, India completes 64 years of freedom. In this visual chronology of post-Independence India, we choose the moments that stood out in each year of the nation's triumphant, troubled history.

1970 – "They say Indira Hatao, I say Garibi Hatao"

Indira Gandhi, fast losing her popularity, ushered in a new era in Indian politics with her epic line, "They say Indira hatao, I say Garibi hatao" in a desperate bid to gain the loyalty of the masses for the elections that she subsequently won in 1971. The slogan, which means "Abolish Poverty", was later adopted by Rajiv Gandhi. Though the campaign was by no means successful, (only a shocking 4% of the total allocated funds for the campaign actually went into anti-poverty programs), it helped her secure the elections the coming year.

1971 – Bollywood smokes a chillum

Dev Anand, by no means second to showman Raj Kapoor in choosing controversial themes for his films, touched upon the sensitive topic of drugs in a movie that perfectly married the two themes of childhood isolation and the hippie movement. The film became a starring vehicle for the lead heroine, Zeenat Aman (Zeenie baby, as she was called), and was a huge musical and commercial hit.

In keeping with the sub-theme of western influence on India, the soundtrack featured both Hindi and English songs, the robust-voiced Usha Uthup holding up strongly in the English numbers against Asha Bhonsle's honeyed vocals in the Hindi ones. The mood of the film had strong Warholesque undertones and while sending out an anti-drug message, also celebrated the liberation of the Indian woman from her ghar ki rani stereotype.1972 – Putting the cat back in the bag

Project Tiger, launched in 1973-74, was India's first successful conservation venture, aiming at the preservation and protection of the tiger, the national animal, in its natural reserves. There were 40 such reserves in 2008, but the total tiger population had dipped to an alarming 1411, which made the government sit up, take notice and give the movement its second wind three years ago, pledging over US $150 million dollars to the campaign. The 2011 tiger census puts the total figure at 1716, showing a healthy growth of about 20% over the last three years, though poaching of tigers for their skin still continues to pose a problem.

1973 – A landmark year for teenybopper romances

RK Films' Bobby, the launch pad for star son Rishi Kapoor and rumoured star daughter Dimple Kapadia, featuring a pleasantly plump Dimple complete with love handle and cankles, and tinsel town's original chocolate lover boy Rishi, was a runaway hit at the box office, riding high on whispers of an off-screen romance between the leads. The movie redefined the love story at the box office and became the inspiration for the onslaught of teenage-romance-set-against-a-backdrop-of-class-divide films. As with all blockbusters, the movie's soundtrack was a huge hit and enjoys pride of place in the golden era of Bollywood music.

1974 – A pox on India's health

Six years before smallpox was successfully eradicated from the world, India fell prey to the disease, losing over 15,000 lives in just five months mostly in West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Thousands who survived were either disfigured or blinded. It was one of the worst outbreaks of smallpox in the disease's history. Ironically, the epidemic occurred in the midst of WHO's smallpox eradication program.

1975 – The year when controversy ruled

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, then President of India, declared a state of internal emergency upon the advice of then PM Indira Gandhi, thereby granting her full power to rule by decree. It was arguably the most controversial period in independent India's history. No stranger to controversy herself, Indira Gandhi is said to have brought democracy "to a grinding halt", in her own words. The almost two-year-long emergency ended in early 1977, with the Janata Party beating Indira's Congress by a small majority in the general elections, bringing back 'democracy' from a bleak period of 'dictatorship'.

1976 – Pocketful of good intentions

This is one year that India is unlikely to forget. The legal ages of marriage for men and women were declared (21 and 18, respectively) and thousands of married men and women were called to volunteer for vasectomies and tubal ligations to control the burgeoning population. Many were promised plots of land in the NCR region of Delhi if they willingly underwent vasectomies, earning the area the rather unfortunate name of Nasbandi (vasectomy) Colony. Sanjay Gandhi, son of then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, shouldered the majority of the blame for what is seen as a failed program. Inverted red triangles or not, our nation today is home to 17% of the world's population, 1.21 billion at last count – and still counting…

1977 – At the lotus feet of the Lord

1977 saw the passing of Acharya Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (or the Hare Krishna Movement), who was largely responsible for spreading the message of Vaishnavism in the Western world. A hugely celebrated spiritual icon, Srila Prabhupada's final resting place is in Vrindavan, a town that relies largely on the ISKCON movement for its tourist trade. A statue that bears a striking resemblance to the spiritual leader is also found in the temple in Vrindavan. ISKCON, though initially a recipient of rich praise, now sees itself mired in controversy.

1978 – Fertility's triumph and shame

India's first test tube baby, Durga (Kanupriya Agarwal) was born after India's first successful in vitro fertilization, credited to the late physician Subhash Mukhopadhyay. The doctor unfortunately received only posthumous credit, as during his time, he had to battle ostracization and bureaucracy, with the government refusing him the right to attend international conferences. He ultimately committed suicide and became the inspiration for the Tapan Sinha movie, Ek Doctor Ki Maut.

1979 – Nobility wins a Nobel

Sister of Mercy Mother Teresa's undying kindness and compassion for the downtrodden, the displaced and the diseased was awarded the richly deserved Nobel Peace Prize. Albanian by birth (her native town Skopje is now the capital of Macedonia), she adopted Indian citizenship. Moved by the poverty she witnessed in the wake of the Bengal Famine of 1943 and the communal violence in the aftermath of Partition, she left the Sisters of Loreto to establish her own order, the Missionaries of Charity. In 1952 she established the Kalighat Home for the Dying in Kolkata (then Calcutta), a charitable hospice where the poor could die "a beautiful death". Before she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, she had already been recognized with the Balzan Prize (1978) and the Albert Schweitzer International Prize (1975).

1980 –India shuttles to the top

Though the year will go down in history as the year of Indira Gandhi's return to politics and her son Sanjay Gandhi's controversial death, India took giant leaps in sports. Two triumphs in the international arena set India on the global map. For one, the Indian hockey team won gold at the Moscow Olympics and young badminton star Prakash Padukone, father of starlet Deepika Padukone, became the first Indian to win the All England Badminton Open.

1981 – Standing on the shoulders of 7 giants