Patriotism - Pride or Profanity ??

Hi Folks !!!

Well ... This is my first ever (technically second) post and I thought it would be appropriate to fire my opening salvo on an issue thats close to my (and every patriotic person's) heart - Patriotism- what I believe it means, why does it even hold relevance in our own event-filled everyday lives, and how can we keep it alive within the whole gamut of feelings that inhabit our hearts.

Before you think this is going to be a boring run-of-the-mill lecture on patriotism, let me assure you it is not. It is something I chose to write on cause I have been struck by how Patriotism is …. something that should be imbibed in everyone’s heart and is yet an abstract concept for most of us (which is something that we would not like to admit) , a feeling, the mention of which evokes widely disparate views and mostly something that, at least for us Indians has been reduced to an emotion that wells in our hearts once every year on the 15^th of August, or when our Cricket team wins a match or when the odd movie that celebrates the freedom struggle or patriotism comes about (a la Rang de Basanti or Chak de India respectively).

For most of us, Independence Day conjures up the image of the Tri-Colour, attached to vehicles or our clothes, singing the National Anthem, the Red Fort at New Delhi and the Prime Minister unfurling the flag and standing behind the bullet-proof glass delivering his speech (I am not going to spew vitriol on those morons for whom it conjures up images of Will Smith kicking the hell out of aliens … That’s reserved for another day, another blog). But for me, Independence Day only causes me to reflect on two incidents that flash to my mind ever so often.

The first one is the scene of the evening of I-Day (not even the day after, no – we cannot wait even that much) when people are walking on the road STEPPING on the national flags that have fallen from vehicles or people’s hands/clothes.

If you thought that was bad, then here comes the second – On Independence Day 2008, I went up to a person I knew, extended my hand out and wished him A Happy Independence Day. The person …. stared at me like I was crazy to even think of it … and … SPAT at my feet and went off.  The feeling that still wells up inside me, when I remember that moment as I stood stunned with my hand un-retracted, is something I struggle to put to words … a mixture of shock, disbelief, disgust and rage.

It was primarily the second incident that set me thinking … and is one of the reasons that directly led me to even setting up a blog and posting this.

It’s been only 63 years since the Tri-Colour replaced the Union Jack and fluttered proudly from atop the ramparts of the Red Fort and Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru gave his now immortalized “Tryst with Destiny” speech to a nation that was delirious with the joy of having won the protracted war for Independence. Generations of Indians having made unimaginable sacrifices, were brimming with hope for a better tomorrow in a free India. Two generations on, the very concept of being Indian, of celebrating the fact that we are a proud people standing on our own feet and being counted as a force to reckon with, is being spat on ?? No … Something is wrong somewhere … very wrong.

Filth, pollution, corruption and lack of a ‘system’ are often cited as the reasons for why the average Indian on the road criticizes his country, and doesn’t have much of a regard for it. In my opinion, it’s the last point - ‘system’, that’s the key here. The decline of a country doesn’t happen over-night. It is a gradual process, beginning at minuscule, individual levels, building up gradually like termites, and, beyond a certain stage, multiplying rapidly like cancer cells, eventually finishing off the ‘system’.

The damage began soon after Independence. Differences between people, between religions, between castes within religions, between states, that had been super-ceded by a unifying feeling of having to throw out the colonial masters, started getting exposed almost immediately. The worst damage had been partition – that grand scheme that evolved from the age-old British policy of ‘Divide and Rule’, something that began with the English East India Company employing it to create discord between already individualistic, regional maharajas, thereby weakening all of them and consolidating their hold over India, or ‘Hindoostan’, as they called it. That it worked on un-educated, 18^th century, power-hungry kings is not much of a surprise; but the fact that it worked brilliantly even in the minds of western-educated people such as Nehru and Mohammad Ali Jinnah is something that confounds me !! Guess the hunger for power spared no one. 

    

The fact that despite the option to go settle in ‘their own country’, millions of Muslims chose to stay in India thereby placing a resounding slap in the face of the two-nation theory, should have been a great unifier, and allowed us to proceed with the task of nation-building. But no – the divisions ran much deeper and so did the hunger for power.

No sooner had the country become independent, the states were organized on the basis of language. Bombay Presidency was spilt into Maharashtra and Gujarat, Madras Presidency was split into Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh; arguably for the sake of administrative ease but in reality to satiate the desires of individual groups belonging to the different cultures. In a way, this was no different from the partition of Bengal initiated by Lord Curzon, Governor General of India, in 1905; a partition cleverly camouflaged as an administrative necessity but meant to create a schism between Hindu-dominated West Bengal and Muslim-dominated East Bengal – a division that would later on result in the formation of ‘East Pakistan’ which would further separate from Pakistan as Bangladesh, precisely because of the incompatibility in culture ( ironically, despite the commonality of religion) !  Agreed – satisfying a country having so many different cultures, religions and languages is no easy task and maybe the division of states based on language had to be done. Okay. But did it stop there? No it din’t. Within states, petty  politicians, under the garb of ‘activists’ or ‘reformers’, knowing that now there was no one to lord over them, realizing it was their one chance to enjoy their moment in the sun, decided to play up the differences between the various religions, between the various castes within a religion, between the various sub-castes with castes, spoke of victimization (which, I admit, was true to an extent), vendetta, revenge, ‘avenging of honor’ and opened up fault lines in areas of vulnerability, not to work for the upliftment of the downtrodden, but to grab their positions of power, in the process, ruining the social fabric of a country and damaging the psyche of a people, a nation, for decades to come.

North Indian politicians, alarmed by the national prominence of people from the south such as C. Rajagopalachari, who became Independent India’s first and only Governor General and the increasing number of IAS officers from the south, resorted to blaming those damned ‘Madrasis’ for their miseries, harnessed various media such as publications and the movies to portray denigrating caricatures of South Indians, and some politicians in (a) certain state(s) went a step further – ordered their minions to bash up people from the south and drive them away, back to ‘their’ land, so that they wouldn’t ‘steal’ the jobs rightfully belonging to people from that particular state. The north of India was portrayed as having been the bulkhead in the fight for Independence while the south was portrayed as not having suffered ‘that much’ ( A blatant lie and malicious propaganda).

Of course, the South Indians weren’t to be outdone. Parties such as the Dravidar Kazhagam even went so far as to demand a separate country called ‘Dravida Nadu’ where the rights of the dravidian language speaking people would be secured, safe from the ‘invading aryans’ from the north. In all this, people forgot one basic fact – that north Indian or south Indian, both the groups that were being so hostile to each other were composed of the same people – Indian. The worst aspect of this has been that what was started as a ploy by the politicians for personal gain, went on to percolate into the mindset of the general public.

If the divide between the north and the south was bad, what was worse was the sparring within the Northern and Southern people themselves. The fact that carnatic music, extremely popular in Tamil Nadu, has most songs composed in Telugu, has been a point of contention among some Tamils (a point exploited in a popular Tamil movie) and the Cauveri river dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka has often been elevated (by politicians, who else?) into a conflict between Tamil and Kannada people. The “North Indians”, on the other hand are often unsparing of Sardarjis and Biharis, who fiercely compete with the ‘Madrasis’ in often being the butt of jokes in everyday life ! And of the people from North- Eastern India, well, did you even remember them all this while, while reading this article ?? They are often just ignored or worse, labeled “chinkies” (A derogatory reference to the supposed mongoloid gene in the people from those areas) which only alienates them further. One would only think, having cleverly and successfully played up such divisiveness among gullible people, the local politicians would feel comfortable and secure, assured that their power was guaranteed.

But no – the passions roused by inciting differences in society couldn’t be sustained for long enough to keep these ‘representatives of the people’ in power for perpetuity. There had to be new ways of attracting the masses to vote for them, to consider them the only hope for salvation.  There was a need for more populist measures. And they found one. ‘Reservation’ – the bane of our ‘system’ today, reservation for the ‘deprived’ classes – in education, and in employment. Reservation – that so called great leveler, which has not achieved anything substantial, which has not contributed to increasing the literacy level of the common man and has only left a majority of the literate people frustrated at the opportunities denied to them.

Wait a minute … this was an article on patriotism … right ?? After reading all of the above, I am sure most of you reading this article would have been wondering, trying to make sense as to where this is all leading to …. You would be feeling ‘lost’. That is EXACTLY the feeling I wanted you to get !! 

THIS IS PRECISELY WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO OUR COUNTRY !!!

We have got lost … we have been so busy squabbling amongst ourselves, so occupied in blowing up our differences and so desperate in making our livelihoods  despite all the constraints put on us that nobody even has the time to think about India !!! When the situation has so become, that it is a herculean task to even make something out of ourselves individually, what will we even think of the making of our country !!! Ourselves first, country later. Perfectly justified. 

All of this could have been avoided had the Government of India taken firm action, when the nation was still new, when the nation was brimming with hope after obtaining independence, when the nation was looking forward to a new tomorrow after the ugly mess of partition had died down. To put it bluntly – we should have capitalized on the feeling of patriotism permeating thru the entire country just after Independence to ensure the cooperation of the common man in proactively implementing governmental programs, for years to come, until it became automatic.

Yes – considering the onerous task it had been set, with people who were new to their jobs of nation building, the Government performed admirably, in re-settling the masses who had been displaced, in trying to deal with problems of food, shelter and clothing, in preserving the unity and preventing the Balkanization of India during that critical period when anybody and everybody thought a new country could be obtained for themselves. However, in trying to do that, we lost out on a golden opportunity to prevent the current fiasco. We should have initiated a stronger political system, wherein so many political parties would not have been able to be established. Where every Tom, Dick and Harry, (sorry for the ‘English’ names) with some personal grouse would not have been able to start his or her own political party; because greater the number of people with personal agendas, greater the number of brain-washers and consequently, greater the brain-washing that takes place !!  Greater the discretization of politics, the more the concept of “national level” politics fades into the background. More the personal agendas of a small group, lesser the united voice for holistic development of an entire country.

Most importantly – the politics of divisiveness would not have succeeded had the masses been educated. That was another huge area where the Government of India failed. We should have introduced a system of free and compulsory education up to high school for everyone. Those who say this is not feasible should realize that, one - the population of India, albeit on the higher side always, was not so unmanageable then and two- despite being an enormous country with an economy that was devastated at the time of its founding, the Soviet Union was able to incorporate a system of free and compulsory education for all, leading to a literacy rate of 99.7 % by the 1970s. Then why wouldn’t have it been possible for us to emulate them ? India, with its traditional emphasis on education and a scientific bent of mind would have been able to achieve a high literacy rate at a much faster pace. It is surprising, that Nehru, the first prime minister of India, an unabashed admirer of the USSR, who even borrowed the system of five-year plans from them, din’t incorporate this aspect of the Soviet system into India. Admitted, as part of that compulsory education, the Soviets made sure the students were taught to worship the personality cult of Lenin and brainwashed into thinking that the soviet model was the best in the world while all other systems were capitalist-imperialist in nature; however I am sure that, considering the stature of the people who were at the helm at that time in India, such a scheme would not have taken hold, thereby leading to a model education system, ensuring unbiased education for all, on the lines of the United States.

A large educated workforce would have resulted in a highly productive work environment, resulting in the economy surging forward much earlier. Instead, corruption, misplaced priorities, lack of a stable government, a unified voice, tumors in the system such as the license raj and a tremendous strain due to the huge population crippled the economy, causing the Indian rupee to fall from what was once 8 Rs. to the US Dollar to currently being around 50 Rs. to a Dollar, thereby making it even more lucrative to stay on abroad after completing one’s studies and not come back.

Had the above two – a strong political system and a strong system of free and compulsory education been implemented, India would have been free of a lot of problems and prejudices plaguing her today.

An important point to note is that, the dramatic increase in the number and prominence of regional parties happened during the ’70s – ’80s, when the first generation of people born after Independence was reaching adulthood. Had that entire generation been an educated one, with the ability to think independently, with the ability to discern right from wrong, the petty politicians would not have succeeded in brainwashing the masses into believing their false promises and implementing their twisted agendas, the charade of having ‘reservation’ to provide a ‘level playing field’ would not have held any water, the talented people who left India in disgust for greener pastures abroad would not have done so, the ‘Brain Drain’ would not have happened and most importantly, the succeeding generation i.e. us, the ‘Gen-Nxt’ would not have been fed on a constant theme of how “This country is no good, you will never be able to become anything in this hopeless nation” by parents who felt cheated by their own country, thereby making us harbor dreams of getting out of India at the first chance we get. 

Had our masses been educated, they would have known about civic sense, civil liberties, rights and empowerment. Underprivileged people would still have been able to send their kids to school, instead of forcing them to work to supplement the family income, those children would have been able to go on to at least get a basic job, enough to provide them three square meals a day, enough to be able to save over the years to provide their children, in turn, a much better education, thereby improving the quality of life over succeeding generations. With education, people would have had the sense to demand a better quality of life from the elected representatives, thereby ensuring accountability on the part of politicians. Voters wouldn’t be so gullible that their votes could be bought over by promises of ‘sops’ like color television sets or sometimes, by the blatant use of money.

In turn, politicians who would have also grown up educated, would, it is at least hoped, have had the sense of responsibility to ensure that the common man has a good, decent quality of life and, armed with the knowledge that inactivity will only have them thrown out of office by an intelligent public, would have been forced to act in the interests of the common man. Good roads would have been laid, the country electrified, clean, running water provided, basic necessities would have been provided for. Politics would have been looked at as a viable career option, just like any other ‘routine’ field, instead of as a vocation for thugs and criminals. Educated youngsters, seeing the impact that lawmakers have on the making of a country, would have aspired to ‘do something more for our country’ and probably chosen politics for their careers. Having an awareness of the level of development and achievement in other countries by virtue of being knowledgeable, they would have incorporated programs targeting the holistic development of the nation.  

Consequently, the common man, not bothered about the bare necessities of life, would have been able to focus on other things. Once the problems of food, clothing, shelter and education would have been taken care of, both the people and the government could have turned their attention to other fields such as sports. Parents, not worried about paying through their noses for education, would have been able to sponsor their kids for sports thereby enabling talent to flourish. The government, in turn, would not have confined sports to the dustbin but instead looked at it as an expression of a nation’s pride. Educated young politicians would have ensured the development of good facilities, state of the art stadia and a much better-organized system of national competitions to nurture talent and produce sportsmen of international calibre. No child would have been forced to quit sports because ‘it wouldn’t get you a meal’ and with increased respectability, glory and visibility, acclaimed sportsmen such as Dhyan Chand would not have died in penury and obscurity.

Most importantly, India would not be grappling with the problem of a burgeoning, non-contributing, under-performing population today. Education would have ensured people are aware of family-planning and healthcare. In turn, the under-control population would also have had access to abundant or at least, sufficient health care, leading to a good health index. A limited population would also ensure that there is never a strain on food reserves, natural resources, the education system, medical facilities or power generation, leading to a content population.  

Education would have contributed to the eradication of prevailing social evils and superstitious beliefs, thereby enabling greater harmony among people. Cruel practices such as female infanticide or ‘honor killings’ would not be taking place as such practices cannot be prevented by law alone; it needs a change in the mindset of the people.

To summarize, we would have had systematic development of the country and already achieved the much-talked about and much-desired status of a super-power. Instead, what has been ‘systematic’ has been only the devastation of this nation, leading to a scenario wherein a country which has a majority of its population under the age of 25, has that population disgruntled and disgusted, but unwilling or incapable of doing anything about it, and looking for the first chance to escape from it. Where people are willing to even perform menial jobs in a foreign country, jobs they themselves would often look down upon in India, just because it gives them a chance to be outside our “useless” and “hopeless” country. Where a population feels there is nothing to be patriotic about, where the concept of a strong and vibrant India is thought of with sarcasm, where winning Olympic medals is just wishful thinking, where, for at least a major chunk of the population, access to even basic amenities is a dream and the concept of a ‘system’ and status of a super-power is a joke. Where an expression of patriotism is considered profanity, and not a source of pride.

But all is not lost. The situation can be salvaged. Our country can still be rescued from this self-imposed disaster. How ?  

In my opinion, in one way – Education. Not just the text-book kind, but a well-rounded, meaningful education. And this cannot be achieved by just the government. It requires the harmonious efforts of both the government and the people. The government needs to introduce a system of free education up to senior secondary school level. Merely introducing the Right to Education act is not enough. People need to have a means of exercising this right. And a country having a huge chunk of its population under the poverty line cannot exercise that right. It’s the government’s responsibility to ensure that the masses are given access to education. And by education, I mean a comprehensive education system, in which students, at their formative level are taught with all sincerity, what it is to learn and acquire knowledge, the purpose behind obtaining education, what it is to be a good human being, the importance of values, ethics, integrity and the pride and responsibility of being the torch-bearer of the future of the country - a country that has had a glorious history, a country that has been the epitome of all that the term ‘civilization’ stands for, a country won back from colonialists by tremendous courage and sacrifice. Children should be told what a privilege it is to be born Indian and what an honor it is to be able to serve such a country. An education system that provides a view of our glorious history and stresses on the factors responsible for the growth of nations in the present world.

Salaries for teachers must be increased. It’s a sad irony that in a country where a teacher or Guru is accorded a higher pedestal than God, teaching is no longer looked upon as a viable profession. If we are to attract more educated, qualified people to become teachers and impart their knowledge to succeeding generations, we need to make sure that that profession can give them a decent lifestyle. Teachers in turn, must recognize the fact that they are not just doing a routine job but molding the very future of our nation. They must go above and beyond the call of their duty and not just confine themselves to teaching what is presented in the textbooks but also stress on the above mentioned aspects, making sure that the children of today become responsible adults of tomorrow.

Parents must instill in their children a sense of awareness – regarding their role as individuals and as human beings. Children must be made aware of the state of the nation; they must be told of the factors affecting growth and development, not just their own but also of their country’s. They must be told of how India has made great strides in so many fields and at the same time, told about how diminished priorities have stifled growth; How divisiveness and a misplaced sense of one up-manship has led to the ruining of society, inter-personal relationships and the nation as a whole.

The system of higher and college education must be strengthened. Students should be made to push themselves harder, not in learning huge volumes by rote and competing with others but in applying the concepts they have learnt. The number of good universities must be increased but at the same time, only deserving, meritorious students should be able to attain seats in the best institutions. Free of reservation, and having provided equal opportunities to all students regardless of social background, these institutes will be filled with the best of the best. As of now, the gulf between the IITs, NITs, IIMs, St. Stephens’, NIFTs and the rest of the colleges is enormous. That gap needs to be narrowed. And the way to increase the overall educational standard is not by increasing the number of the above mentioned institutions (the latest branches of which are running without adequate faculty or even campuses of their own) but by increasing the standard of education in the other institutes, so that even if all students aren’t able to get into the top-notch universities, they still have access to a challenging curriculum of study at any other good institute. NRIs can contribute their bit by being visiting faculty at universities in India, thereby sharing their valuable experience of the education system and industrial set-up abroad and molding Indian students to international standards. This will result in a workforce that’s impressive and imposing not just in quantity but also in quality.  

   

Another important aspect is the Media. India has been fortunate to have a strong, independent media that is more or less objective in its reporting of events. The media should also stress on the glory of India, depict the glorious past, showcase the present in its myriad hues and project a future that the common man should yearn and strive for. The positive should be stressed upon, the negative presented for what it is – a debilitating scourge. Politicians’ achievements (no matter how few and far in between) must be praised; at the same time their failures or abuse of office must be ruthlessly torn apart. Those lawmakers who snore through the playing of the National Anthem must be decimated ! And as for politicians who encourage hooliganism or vandalism or make inflammatory speeches encouraging people from ‘other’ parts of the country to be thrown out, they should be castigated publicly or simply, ignored and left for insane.

The concept of being Indian must be played up. We often praise the US and are in awe of everything the US represents – their sky-scrapers, their amazing fighter jets – the F16s and F-15s, their aircraft carriers, their movies. Most of us adore Top Gun and seek to wear the same kind of jacket and sunglasses as him. (Why, I confess – I myself sign my pen-name as TopGun) We can see so many youngsters wearing jackets or T-shirts saying ‘U.S. Army’ or having a picture of the Statue of Liberty or the U.S. Flag. Yet–our own flag, the Indian Tri-Color is often lying strewn on the roads, trampled on and there is corruption in even arranging coffins for our dead soldiers !!! Shame !!! Whenever the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ is played, all of America comes to a standstill whereas we in India don’t even have much of a regard for the National Anthem. Ask a lay person on the road, which song is the National Anthem and chances are you ll have a lot of people saying ‘Vande Mataram’ or ‘Saare Jahaan se Achcha’ when it is actually ‘Jana Gana Mana’ !!  

Why is it that America gets such visibility while our own country gets treated contemptuously ? Because of publicity. As mentioned in a Dan Brown novel, Top Gun ran like a 2 hour advertisement for the U.S. Navy. The hard truth is that even patriotism needs to be marketed and trumpeted about regularly until it becomes ingrained in the minds of people !! Yes - nationalism and patriotism need to be publicly acknowledged. In the U.S, in addition to children being taught about patriotism and service to the nation at homes and in schools, there is a prominent display of the U.S flag in pretty much every street in America. Members of the military are treated as heroes and felicitated at every public event with members of the armed forces in any audience at any event or theme-park being asked to get up and be applauded for their service to the nation. Members of the armed forces have special privileges accorded to them, such as sponsored education at any level, concessions at ticketed facilities and preference in employment.

But in India ? Army men, who fight in some of the most hostile battlefield conditions such as in Siachen are made to fight without adequate winter clothing, insufficient rations, are portrayed as oppressors and rapists (yes some isolated incidents do occur) by a self-centered political brass and ‘human-rights activists’ and are not even given quality ammunition to fight with. Our top-notch pilots don’t have enough jet-trainers to be trained on and fly obsolete aircraft that crash regularly and our Navy still sails world-war II era ships bequeathed to us by the British, French or Russian navies.  There are scams related to purchase of coffins for our martyred soldiers and people who risked their lives serving in our intelligence agencies are made to beg for their pensions !!! Not one politician showed up when Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, one of India’s most decorated soldier passed away. But what else can you expect when a congress government doesn’t celebrate the victory in Kargil because it was apparently a war won when the current opposition BJP were in power ??!! Ridiculous !! Atrocious !!!

When we ape America in everything else, we should take a cue from them in celebrating our patriots too. Members of the armed forces should be glorified on a regular basis; their courage celebrated, their sacrifices recognized and their valour immortalized. We still have just an India Gate built by the British to commemorate soldiers killed in the 2 world wars on behalf of the British Empire. We need to have war memorials dedicated to each and every war that the Indian armed forces have been involved in. Those soldiers risk or many a time even give their lives for us - people who they don’t even know personally and may not mean anything to them except fellow citizens who sleep peacefully knowing that someone out there is keeping a protective watch at the borders. They need to be given a decent life after leaving the force. They need to be laid to rest in a manner befitting their glorious life. Their stories need to be made mandatory reading in schools.  

A ‘Border’, ‘Rang De Basanti’, ‘Lakshya’ or a ‘Swades’ go a long way in inspiring people and more such films need to be made - modern, slick and yet hard-hitting on the theme of patriotism and what it is to serve the country. How many people even know that, a good four years before Top Gun was released in the U.S, a brilliant movie called ‘Vijeta’ was made, which showcased the Indian Air Force brilliantly. The camera angles, the breathtaking shots of IAF aircraft were simply superb and made me feel enamored of the Indian Air Force and its servicemen.

Once we have an educated, patriotic population, the rest of the changes will follow. The problems of food, water, shelter, healthcare and education will get solved gradually. The whole of India will get electrified. There will be ample distribution of resources and easy access to healthcare. The national literacy level will increase. There will be ample job opportunities in different walks of life, various fields will flourish. Our engineers, technologists and scientists will stay and work in their motherland, increasing her technological and defence capabilities. ISRO and DRDO will be looked at as potential employers by starry eyed students. Politics will eventually be free of hooligans and thugs, who, seeing that their lifestyle has only elicited contempt from their own, educated children, will fade away. It will then become a viable career option for educated professions, people who take up the task of nation-building as a challenge and an honor.

Such a populace will seek pride in working for the betterment of India, will strive for bolstering the Indian economy, will take pride in serving in the uniformed services, will consider it an honor to wear the Indian Flag on their lapels, will stand at attention proudly for the national anthem and will consider it a blessing to represent India at international events including sports. India will figure prominently on the world stage, its aspirations and opinions will find a voice at international forums, its name will figure prominently in the medals tally at all major sporting events and its power will be demonstrated by the sheer presence of the Indian Tricolor fluttering proudly.    

These changes will not happen over-night. It will take years, decades of dedication and sincerity for these targets to achieve fruition. But work towards it, we must. Even a day’s delay will set back the process of development by years. The current generation may not live to see these dreams realized. But strive we must, because that is the inherent beauty of striving. Is it not the succeeding generation that gets to taste the fruit of a tree planted by its preceding generation ? We must have faith – that the process set in motion will continue, gather momentum, acquire more strength till it becomes a mighty force uplifting and carrying along the entire nation. Did not many fire-brand youths such as Bhagat Singh willingly give up their lives, filled with the conviction that their efforts will eventually pay off and India would eventually attain freedom ?

Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam has set a target of 2020 A.D. for India to be a super-power. I am nowhere near as qualified as him and I also share his passion and enthusiasm but it is my humble belief that the process will take a far longer time. But it will happen. Because, I believe in the inherent capabilities of my countrymen. I believe in the ability of the people of India to rise above their differences in times of national calamity, which is exactly what our current state is. Once this is realized, people will wake up, governments will wake up, the country will get going and eventually, once again, India will awake to life and freedom. Indians will find every reason to feel proud of their nation, and expressing one’s love for our country, the country we call Bharat-Mata, our mother, India,  will no longer be spat on, will no longer be treated as profanity, it will be an expression of pride.

Jay Hind !!!!

Avinash (I just couldn’t bring myself to sign off as TopGun this time)