Wednesday 1 September 2004

Am I a proud Indian?

The article/ write-up “Facts to make every Indian proud” (in the last edition of NUCMAG) made interesting reading. It lists a few of the achievements of our country. Almost all the achievements date back to a few hundred years. Life has changed and so has the country. Those who live in the past are doomed. Those who only look back and smile will be met with hiccups in future. It is good to learn from the past – but it is damning to just look at the past and smile. Thomas Jefferson once said – “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past”. Past is history my friends. It is our present, which will help us in achieving future goals. Rene Pascal made a very interesting observation “We never take care of the present moment, if anyone examines his thoughts, he will find them entirely taken up with the past or the future... so we never live, but hope to live; and since we are always preparing to be happy, it is inevitable that we shall never be so”.

We need to ask ourselves – in the present scenario – are we really proud of our country? Still Better – are we really proud of being Indian?

Allow me to present my case in front of you today.

Why should I be proud of India? Just because Aryabhatta invented Zero? Just because first University of the world was established in Takshila in 700 BC? Just because India was once called The Golden Bird? Should I be proud just because India never invaded any country in her last 1000 years? Really? I thought India marched against erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in 1971 war? Aryabhatta’s Aryabhatiyam, which sketches his mathematical, planetary, and cosmic theories were derived more than thousand years ago! India was called a Golden Bird a few centuries ago! And Takshila University, which was made a a couple of thousand years ago, does not even exist today. Are these the things that should make me a proud Indian today?

What should I be proud of today? Should I be proud of the fact that more than a third of the total numbers of Members of Parliament are non-graduates? These people are supposed to make laws for us and govern. Am I supposed to be proud of it? Should I be proud of the politicians raising Caste and Religious issues time and again to garner votes and create disharmony? I should definitely be proud of the religious and fanaticism that has been a part of our lives these days – is it not? Where is our religious and social tolerance that we were known for in the past? Should I be proud of being counted as a citizen of the country that finds its place in top 15 corrupt countries in the world? Should I be proud of the scams that have happened in our country? There have been more than five-dozen – big and small – scams reported in India in the last 5 years! Am I supposed to be proud of it? Should I be proud of the fact that every year when one part of our country is flooded – the other part experiences drought? Isn’t it ironical that we have not been able to make a proper water distribution policy in last 56 years of our independence to ensure that everybody gets at least proper drinking water? Or should I perhaps be proud of the large-scale poverty in our country? Should I then be proud of the lack of basic infrastructure like roads and electricity across the length and breadth of the country? We could at least have had all the villages and cities around the country connected by road and could have provided electricity to every house. That is not asking for too much. Or – is it? Should I be proud of my country, which has been attacked and was enslaved more than once – first by Mughals and Afghanis and then by different European powers? How many countries do we know that have been enslaved more than once by some outside power or nation? Should I again be proud of the dowry system prevalent in our country? Should I be proud of the people today who leave India to get citizenships of other countries? Should I be proud of our judicial system? A judicial system where it takes years to resolve a case? Should I be proud of two Heads of State & the Father of nation being assassinated in our own country? Or should I be proud of the large scale rioting and looting that happens on a regular basis? Should I be proud of the police and administrative system of India? How many of us feel secure in the presence of police personnel around us? And I thought they are meant to provide us with a sense of security!

Our National Game is Hockey – isn’t it? How many of us watch a hockey game involving India? How many of us know who is the current captain of Indian Hockey team? Should I be proud of my countrymen who have ignored our National Game for a game called cricket? Am I supposed to be proud and crazy about cricket? Why? Are their achievements so great? Should I be proud of my cricket team, which has not won a single series abroad in last 18-19 years (I am excluding the insignificant wins in the sub-continent against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka)? We are proud of Sachin Tendulkar being the greatest batsman ever. But have we ever bothered to see whether he deserves that kind of accolade? Ask yourselves – How many times has Sachin Tendulkar played a match-winning knock in fourth innings of a Test Match? After all great players are supposed to win matches. Aren’t they? And I am supposed to be proud of him just because he has scored maximum number of centuries? Again – Tiger is our National Animal. Should I be proud of my country because the largest amount of poaching of tigers happens here? For God’s sake – there are only a few hundred of them left in the world. Shouldn’t we so-called proud citizens of the country save our National Game and Animal from getting extinct?

Should I be proud of all these things? Can anyone be proud of it?  No Sir – neither can I nor can any self-respecting citizen of our country be proud of the above facts.

Ironically our huge population is quoted as the reason for the lack of progress in our country and is called the biggest curse. On the contrary – I am not so perturbed about the huge population of India. Mark my words readers – it is this population of India, which will help in attaining our supremacy in the world tomorrow. Let us not blame our own population for anything and everything. This very “Huge” population will make us proud. Numbers will matter someday – I am sure it would.

I rest my case by concluding thus:

Am I a Patriot? Yes, I am. Do I love my country? Yes, I do.

Am I proud of it? No, I am not – Not today at least.

Are you?

Mantosh Singh..