A Letter to all Indians

Congratulations my fellow Indian, we are celebrating yet another Independence Day, just as we did for the last 67 times! I am just as happy and proud as you to live in this free nation. Though there are many issues which makes me concerned for my nation, I am still proud that we stand together as Indians, like a magical unity which binds our spectrum of languages, religions and cultures. Which other country can be like us? We know a little sensitive issue can test our secularism, but we have proved everyone that no one can break our unity in diversity. Yes there were bitter moments of massacres and riots, bloodsheddings had occur. But we have surpassed the differences. That bonding is always there in us. That brotherhood feeling of our mother India has always been there in us. We are a young democracy, we do not have centuries of history after Independence, we have challenges to overcome, we keep progressing and if we can grab the missing links, we can add a catalyst to our development. Hope this may help…

Look at the history back… As a new democracy we had so many challenges piled up before us like unemployment, healthcare issues, economy, infrastructure, education, etc. Now look where we stand! We made significant progress in every possible field and we do have surveys which projects us as a super power nation of the world in the future. Answer frankly, do we really deserve that or what is the reality? How will we call ourselves a super power, when we internally we are still corrupt and selfish? Our politicians are inaccessible to us once they are in power, then how can we expect a participative democracy?

Look at the history back… What did the British done to us? Are we having that rage against them now? Time heals every bitter moment of the past. Now our team is playing cricket with them and we are sitting back at home to enjoy the game. That is the way it my dear friends. We must forget, forgive and let go the past. But we are still considering Pakistan as our enemy country! Are they our enemies? No, 68 years before they were our brothers who lived with us. When we can accept the British, why are we brothers India and Pakistan still fighting with each other? Why can we accept each other?

Look at the history back… Population is a field where we are progressing continuously and thanks to that, now this country one of the biggest market place and largest man-power providers! There is no country in this world that has no Indians and the products from every country is available in India.

Is it something to cheer about or worried? Well we need to do the both.

Our population is pushing our agriculture into depletion mode. Our younger generation cares least about agriculture as they started to believe urbanisation is the sign of progress. If we look at the natural resources of India before Independence and after Independence, we have lost many than conserving them!

What do we lack? Talent? Skills? Leadership? Good Government? Effective Administration? Or what?

While we try to discuss all these questions of the negative issues like corruption, women freedom, blah blah… we also need to accept that amid of all these chaos, we have progressed! Our women are getting stronger, raising their voice and making their presence felt in every field. In space research and technologies we are growing futuristic. We can show many examples like GDP data, to show that we have progressed…

Yes. We have progressed but slowly, a rate which can be better by many folds. What stopped us? The following Three Alarming issues

Lack of Unity towards collective Progress and equal Justice

When it comes to our river waters, we are still divided as states to share the water. We act selfish to keep the water with us and let people in the other state to die! Be it river Cauvery, Krishna, Godavari or Narmada… we are still fighting over river water! Why we do not realize it’s all about sharing?

We knew that very well that our people speak many languages, has many cultures, we knew that together we flourish, alone we perish. In fact, there is no republic union in this world as diversified as India, we passed 68 years so proud as a single nation! Then why we are not feeling free to allow people from another state to work in our state, aren’t they Indians! Do not you feel that it looks silly every time when some morons initiate interstate conflicts and we fight one another?  We are still calling them ‘Tamilnadu’ fishermen (why aren’t they Indians?) and solving their problem for decades for our political benefits.

In this 67 years we witnessed many religious riots and massacres, we killed one another. Still when we listen our national anthem on Independence day, we drop every grudge behind and get united as Indians. Even our National flag tells us who we are, we are united. Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs, Atheists, who else are not there in our country. Imagine an India which never fights in the name of religions anymore!

Lack of Social Discipline and Social Responsibility

The way we behave when no one is there to monitor us, shows our true behaviour. Look at our parliament and state assemblies. While the whole country watches our politicians never bothers to shout, break out like freaks and behave absurd. We are seeing this show for decades. When will we learn that the place represents the whole country and determines the fate of the country deserves some code of conduct? This parliamentary behaviour is just an example of how we behave in every street of India. Even the students of grade 3 would behave in good manners than our politicians in parliament.

We crib about corruption all the time, we blame others as a reason for us being corrupt. We knew that they won’t stop and they knew it we don’t stop and we are continuing pointing our fingers on others and progressing on corruption. Right from a petty shop, administrative officers, private companies, and public companies to politicians we have shortcuts for making anything possible via money. How we are going to stop this when we have no starting or ending point for corruption?

Our national media makes good money and hit good TRP ratings whenever a scam or a rape case pops up. Thanks to our citizens, we love sensational issues! We would have endless debates on news channels, for what sake we do have debates when it can provoke no solution to any issue? Just for making us watch, eat some pop corn, and debate with our friends. Let’s keep debating.

Everything has money in it. Inevitable! But there are few things which needs passion first, more than money. This is about our humongous man power in billions. The second populous nation of the world has a fewer talents in sports! Forget Cricket. We are celebrating 5^th spot on common wealth games, a single medal in Olympics. Don’t we deserve more? Aren’t there enough talents? Not every sport will create revenue like cricket or other in India. Unless we invest in grooming the talents we can never shine! When our govt. is going to realize this and create a single sports and games board with shared income, so that bigger money-power games like cricket could support other games?

We need to be humans first, then we will win as Indians

What is real progress? Can we be truly Independent?

No country in the world can survive independently, without the help of other nations. We can only co-exist. We need freedom of co-existence. We need to think beyond our border lines. We need to think beyond just being an Indian! We need to think as humans. Selfishness is the beginning of all the tyrannies of humanity.

What is the point in making our home number one, while our neighbours suffer? What is the point in lighting our home with power 24×7 when our neighbours dwell in darkness? This is what happens when a single nation try to become selfishly rich and dominant over others.

In a future we all need to unify as a single earth! Stand together for saving our natural resources, for saving other lives on the earth. There won’t be any borders and countries. By that time, we can carry our roots as Indians, we can say with pride that how we stood together as Indians, as example for unity in diversity. Being together as Indians will help us to be together as humans in tomorrow.

Let the change begin in you. Let the change begin in ourselves. Let the change begin in our generation. Happy Independence Day!

- Din

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