New Delhi: Discovery celebrates its completion of 20 glorious years in India on the same day as India’s commemorates 69th year of independence. Rejoicing historic moment, Discovery Channel presents India Emerges: A Visual History, the three-part series that will bring alive pages from history books, placing viewers at the epicentre of the story of contemporary India.
The programme will unfold rare archival and never before seen footage to narrate the story of the birth of independent India. Discovery Channel will air this exclusive programme every evening 8 PM on 14th, 15th and 16th August.
The special line-up will take the viewer’s back into history of India’s freedom struggle which spans the period of the British Raj in India, winding its way through tumultuous decades of the Indian freedom movement. The programme will talk about the battles of 1948, 1965 and 1971, the regime of Indira Gandhi, the period of Emergency, Operation Blue Star among others.
The exclusive footage will take viewers to the stroke of midnight and also along new borders where a devastating partition will be unfolded. Having made its way through the ages, the series will culminate on the emergence of a strong, progressive and vibrant India that came into being after many challenges.
Commenting on the programme, Rahul Johri, EVP & GM-South Asia, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific said, “It’s a proud moment for us as we complete 20 glorious years in India. What further amplifies the excitement is we celebrate this day on the 69th year of our independence. Marking this momentous occasion, we are happy to bring forth a programme that will narrate the stories of India and its emergence. The special line-up will revive the many memories of independence and unveil some of the intriguing facts of India’s freedom.”
Episode One – The Raj will narrate an era that predates the idea of India as a single entity, when a fractious political landscape was ripe for the colonial ambitions of European imperialists. Through the 17th and 18th centuries, the film will track the rising influence of the British East India Company, from purely mercantile to political, until finally in the 19th century, when the Queen Victoria officiated the transfer of power from ‘Company to Crown’.
Episode Two – March Towards Freedom will narrate how modern India was born. The programme will make the viewer’s travel back to the days of British Imperialism, India’s movement to break free and emerge as an independent nation. As the film will trace the rise of Indian resistance movements, it will also track parallel events unfolding across the globe including World War II.
The programme showcases exclusive footage of the mass rallies where leaders including Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru and Maulana Azad urge the people towards non-violent struggle and the demand for ‘Swaraj’. Rare archives will take viewers into the chambers of Savarkar’s Hindu Mahasabha and round table meetings of the Jinnah-led Muslim League. As the second part of the film will draw to a close, India’s independence will be imminent.
The third & final episode – A Nation Is Born will take viewers into the days leading up to India’s independence from British rule. Extensive and exclusive footage will be showcased to the viewers that will take them through the phenomenal journey of how the two nations were formed along the Radcliffe line – India and Pakistan. The archived footage will feature the process of nation building, as India dedicates herself to overcoming its challenges. It will also highlight the White House reels of Jacqueline Kennedy’s visit to India help trace India’s steady upward rise in the global arena. As the film and the series will reach its conclusion, India is placed firmly in contemporary times, having emerged from its compelling history as the world’s largest democracy.
The Special series will be an extraordinary moment in history with rare and newly restored archival images with India Emerges: A Visual History only on Discovery Channel and Discovery HD World.
