“Unity in
Diversity” has always been the most appropriate statement to describe India.
Consisting of 28 states and 7 union territories, India is
one of the largest democracies of the world. People from various religions,
castes, sects, beliefs and cultures survive and thrive together in this nation.
Having said so, in spite of so many variations and diversifications, there is
one common thing that links all Indians, whether they be Hindus, Muslims or
Christians, whether they be entrepreneurs or construction workers, whether they
be men or women, and that is the “Indian
Mind-set”.
Sitting at a
coffee shop, or even just walking down the street, we very commonly hear
statements like, “Kitna ganda hai ye road,
koi aake ise saaf kyun nahi karta?”, or “Ye politicians hamesha paise khaane mein hi busy rehte hai, desh ki
bhalai ka to khayal bhi nahi aata inhe” or very regrettably even statements
like-“I will move back to US next month,
I just cannot stay in India. Everything ranging from the education to the
medical care is outdated. I fail to understand how someone can survive in this
country”. Why do such statements arise in the first place? Why do we just
stare at the television and hurl a slew of curses at the people running this
country instead of actually stepping up and bringing about a change?
During the
entire period of the National Freedom Struggle (1857 to 1947), all the Indians
under the leadership of various able leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Dadabhai Naoroji, Rani Laxmi Bai
and many others, were united on one side with one goal against the British.
Where has that unity, that zeal, that desperation to get our motherland free
from the clutches of the British gone? The only difference now is that
corruption, religious conflicts, terrorism and internal politics have replaced
the British. A similar kind of unity was witnessed finally, although at a much
much smaller level, in Delhi recently during the Nirbhaya case, after 60 years
of independence. We Indians are always
strong holders of opinions. Until and unless we don’t start acting on those
opinions, nothing in this country is going to change how much ever we complain.
Our leaders
today, are basically figureheads elected by us (remember “BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE, OF THE PEOPLE”). Since they are
elected by us, what right do we have to complain against them? To solve any
problem anywhere, a person needs to understand the root cause of it. Here, the
root cause lies in the participation of the citizens. According to statistics,
only 48.7% people in 2004 and 59.7% in 2009 actually participated in the voting
procedures. Where are the remaining 40-50% of the people? And, unfortunately, I
bet they are the ones who complain the most. The first step that the Indians
need to take is get up, get out of their houses and vote.
Another
shameful side of the Indians is their “dream” of leaving India and settling abroad
due to reasons like “lack of infrastructure”, “more money”, “lavish lifestyle”,
“pollution” and many other such reasons. According to recent statistics, more
than 35000 of the physicians in US are Indians, three-fourths of IIT graduates
work in the US and 36% of the scientists in NASA are Indians. It is a matter of
great shame for us that such astounding number of people who could have actually
done something, are leaving their own country to pursue the comforts of life.
The picture that would have been in the present India had these many people not
moved out, would have been unimaginable. It is heart-wrenching to see the
Indians participate in the success of other countries and even if they had put
in a 100th portion of the work they put in there, India would have
been at another level entirely.
It is
actually funny when we see people on the streets just throw garbage anywhere
and everywhere they want, spit “paan” in public places and say things like-“Arre yahan to already itna kachra hai agar
main aur ek wrapper daalunga to kya farak padega?”, whereas the same people
when not in India are extremely aware of the cleanliness around them and don’t
litter around even by mistake. Not only that, we keep cursing the corporation
for not getting the mess cleaned up! Ladies and gentlemen, this in fact is the
essence of Indian mentality. These are the things that set our country back by
a huge amount. It is not that the Indians cannot work hard or they do not have
enough knowledge about things. We Indians always have had the benefit of
bringing out the truth to the world. There have been many Indians without whom
the world would not have progressed as far as it has today. Whether it be the
‘zero’ invented by Aryabhatta, or the beginning of medical care through
surgeries started by Sushruta, without such contributions, the wheels of discovery
and invention would have taken a long time to be set in motion in the world.
We flaunt
our rich cultural heritage, the presence and the origin of the major religions
of the world, the importance given to women in various fields and even the
beauty of our country. But, are we really proud of it? I don’t think so. If we
were really proud of it, why do all the religious conflicts keep occurring in
our nation? Why don’t we keep our tourist sites clean and in turn go to other
countries to appreciate their beauty when the real beauty lies at home? Why is
it that women are constantly tortured not only through various assaults but
also through our own so called customs? The old customs which were a source of
agony rather than justice such as child marriage, sati, polygamy, the
expectation of a male child etc. are still deeply instilled into our society.
Why are we unable to let go of them? Why do we keep pressing on matters that
are of no value? No one but the mentality of the people is to blame for all
this. In the lure of following our “rich
cultural heritage” we are in fact not allowing our country to move forward.
We simply do not appreciate the beauty of our country. Just like a human being,
the outer beauty of a country matters, but the inner beauty matters much more.
Till the time we don’t “clean” all these unnecessary traditions and rites, and
maintain our country how it deserves to be maintained, progress in any form
cannot be achieved.
The Indians,
as we all know are the most hard working and the most involved community in the
entire world. We have excelled in all fields and are still excelling. India has
made huge strides of development in the past 20 years. But, to make these
strides larger a change need to be brought about. A revolutionary change, which
will provide India with the boost that it needs, and provide it with the
respect it deserves by all the countries of the world. This change is required
to be made in our very own mind-sets and the way we perceive our motherland.
As it is
said-“Millions of bricks one after
another combine to form a castle”, each and every citizen of this country
should make their contributions, however little they are, and it is these
contributions that will unite everyone and make the castle that our ancestors
dreamed of. We need to give our country the respect of the designation we have
given it-“Bharat Mata”(our mother).
Agreed that
our country is covered neck deep in corruption, agreed that our “netas” are
more interested in politics among themselves than thinking about the betterment
of this country, but, it is high time that we stand up ourselves, leaving all
our personalized opinions on one side, and start putting our words into
actions. As Kishore Asthana very rightly describes India as,” A nation the honour and wealth of which was looted for thousands of years
by foreigners. And now, being looted by its own people.” So, let us stop looting our own country and
help it come back to its rightful place and make it the “Sone Ki Chidiya” as it once was called. Whether we belong to
Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore or any place else, we are Indians first and Maharashtrians,
Bengalis, Punjabis or Guajaratis later. So let us all fulfil our duties to our
motherland and show the world the importance of our nation. Jai Hind!
ABHIGNA ANTANI
