India Independent : A nation @ 65

India! The land of dreams and romance, of fabulous wealth and fabulous poverty, of splendor and rags, of palaces and hovels, of famine and pestilence, of genii and giants and Aladdin lamps, of tigers and elephants, the cobra and the jungle, the country of hundred nations and a hundred tongues, of a thousand religions and two million gods, cradle of the human race, birthplace of human speech, mother of history, grandmother of legend, great-grandmother of traditions, whose yesterday’s bear date with the modern antiquities for the rest of nations - the one sole country under the sun that is endowed with an imperishable interest for alien prince and alien peasant, for lettered and ignorant, wise and fool, rich and poor, bond and free, the one land that all men desire to see, and having seen once, by even a glimpse, would not give that glimpse for the shows of all the rest of the world combined.

-Mark Twain, Following the Equator, 1897

                                                                                        

As extravagant in praise as it sounds, the American author got it bang on in his depiction of India, a country which is as eccentric as it is orthodox. A land of 1.2 billion, the country is renowned world-over for its cultural pluralism, diversity and multi-ethnicism. And now, on the event of its 65th Independence Day, the nation gears up to perhaps its greatest societal and cultural change since 1947.

65 years ago, when people awoke to life and freedom at the stroke of midnight, it was anticipated that Independence from the colonial rule of the British would be a panacea for all our ills; a catharsis to our depravity. But, as it is often with euphuistic dreams, it was not meant to be. While we are certainly better off than we were a century ago, some malaises still remain.

Foremost amongst those is (no prizes for guessing!) corruption. Today, from surreptitious, under-the-table dealings; corruption has metamorphosed into brazen, in your face looting of the people. Culprits are strutting about unabashedly like landlords, while some embezzlers like Arun Firodia are being awarded Padma Shri awards. And to top it all, we have important ministers making audacious remarks like these. And yet we vote these very people to power year after year, hoping for some change! 

The worst part about corruption is that it cannot remain confined to a single sphere of activity, it affects all around it. The far-reaching effects of  such malfeasance can be felt across all strata, be it the economic sector or the political one. The GDP growth rate in India for the fiscal year 2012-13 is expected to be 6.5%, the lowest in eight years. Criminals are entering the Parliament in multitudes, while students are competing with farmers in terms of suicide rates! The second largest country (in terms of population) is content with mere six medals in the prestigious Olympics; 55th in a tournament of 204 nations.

And that seems to be the very problem for us, we are content far too quickly, far too easily.  The entire Government is busy snitching people, but who cares, as long as we earn to our satisfaction; we are content. Millions of well-educated people are remaining jobless due to nepotism and partiality, but it doesn't matter; we are employed, we are content. The Indian hockey team, once the pride of India, loses each and every game in the London Olympics; but that is trivial, as long as the Indian cricket team defeats Sri Lanka for the umpteenth time, we are content ! Truly, the most successful person is one who is the happiest, but also the most discontented one. For once we become satisfied with who we are, we lose the desire to improve. And this holds true for nations as well.

However, the outlook is not as bleak as it seems. Though we may be lagging behind in several sectors, it cannot be denied that progress - slow, indolent, dawdling progress; but progress nevertheless, is being made. The recently concluded Olympics is a beacon of hope that one day, Indian athletes may be world beaters. Like Harsha Bhogle said, the moment we started asking "How many?" instead of "Will we?", it became evident that a gradual change was occurring in the collective Indian mindset. The Right to Education Bill, although flawed, is a step in the right direction. And after ages, the proposed Lokpal Bill provides us a faint hope that one day, corruption may be eradicated from the country once and for all!

So what can we do to aid this growth? Firstly, we need to stop viewing Independence Day merely as a welcome holiday, but use it to introspect on the progress that has been made in India since Pandit Nehru's inspiring speech in 1947. Also, we need to change our mindsets, nay, our outlooks, towards our lifestyles and life choices. The smartest brains of this country need to enter politics, administrative disciplines and teaching; and not the traditional popular fields like engineering and accountancy (that I myself am a student of computer engineering is a testament to my modesty!). And finally, we need to stop being content with what we have, and be motivated to get what we can. And then, may be, one day, the land of Gandhi and Aryabhatta can become a sone ki chidiya again!