When India gained Independence in 1947,
The Literacy rate was 17%,
Life Expectancy was 27 years and
The poverty rate of 90%.
Fast forward 2018
The Literacy rate is 74.04%,
Life Expectancy was 68.35 years and
the Poverty rate of 23.6% (in PPP basis)
Considering India's Total population is 1.2 billion, we are talking about pulling almost 800 million people out of poverty and this was done in the most democratic process possible. It's noteworthy that never in Mankind History such large number of people's HDI has improved so much in less than 100 years.