We, the people of India, supposedly have the power to either make or break the nation. And of late, efforts to enforce the latter are surfacing more frequently than the former. In its sixty first year of independence, India is still struggling to stamp its authority on the global front. We are yet to make our mark in a number of fields and disciplines.
Do, we, the people of India, want our country to be considered as an 'emerging economy', 'a potential superpower' or worse still 'a country with its potential unrealized' for eternity?
Do, we, the people of India, want our country to be in eternal strife not with our neighbors or enemies but with its own people?
Do, we, the people of India, want our country to be looked down by its western counterparts for its poverty, illiterates and lack of development?
Any citizen who has an iota of gratitude towards our nation will have a negative answer to the above questions. But, is a negative answer adequate? Is feeling bad for an adverse situation enough to change its state? The answer is a big NO. Feeling bad for our nation is not sufficient for it to come out of dire straits it is currently in. And more than bombs or terrorists or anti-social elements destroying the country, it is us that are hurting our nation more by not acting. It is WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, who are and who should be responsible for our nation's undoing in ways more than one.
Why are some people so selfish? They place nation's pride and its development on the altar for personal and political gains. They need to come to power for their personal gains. And for them to come to power they need people's support. And for the support they need to stir people's sentiments. And that is exactly what they are doing. This syndrome is not specific to a state or region. It is rampant all over the nation - from Jammu & Kashmir through Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and all states between them.
If there is a political outfit fighting for Maharashtra Navnirman there is a similar one fighting for Telangana. Throw in the fight for Tamil's pride in Sri Lanka and the ageless Kashmir dispute and we have necessary fodder required to stir sentiments. And what does this vote-bank politics finally bring to the common man. Nothing. It is foolish to assume that leaders of these outfits are fighting just for that pride in attaining their state or status for their region/caste or whatever. The real reason is power. Ideally, with great power comes greater responsibility. But in India, with great power comes greater MONEY. And what else do our politicans need?
I am pretty sure these politicians have not read our constitution's preamble in the first place. Agreed, the Preamble does not bestow any rights to individual or entity. But it serves as a guiding tool for the interpretation of the Constitution in its entirity. And what fraction of the preamble are today's politicians adhering? 1%? How about 0.5%? Here is an excerpt from our preamble.
"to secure to all its citizens:
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all"
Justice, Liberty, Equality. Aren't these terms sounding odd and out of context? Don't they seem anachronous? They do and that is the state of our politics. When our constitution was drafted and the words 'WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA' were put together, it was meant to signify that power is ultimately vested in the hands of people of India. We, as a nation, cannot claim to have justice, liberty and equality now. Many things have changed over the last 61 years. Many political/religious and frantic outfits have been established. Running to power and Ruining the nation seems to be the 'IN' thing. Poor have become poorer and rich have become richer. The divide between rich and poor, educated and illiterate and ultimately good and bad has widened. But one thing hasn't changed.
One thing hasn't changed.
The power is still in the hands of WE, THE PEOPLE. All of the abovementioned banes like rich-poor divide, castesism, regional chauvinism etc have crept in because the power to lead nations and state was placed in unworthy hands. Political leaders are still trying to capitalize this and are targetting gullible PEOPLE. They are targetting sensitive issues that are region-based or caste-based. They are instigating animosity within communities that can be devastating. And these targets that they claim to achieve may bring about infinitesimal good together with abundant harm. And the worst part is that people are still falling to these baits.
'The power of One' is often understated. More often than not, we think a single person cannot bring about the required changes to the society. We think he can easily be suppressed and get his intentions overruled. Seldom do we think about a fact that if each and everyone of us stands up for a common cause or an objective we can achieve that objective effortlessly. And obviously this is not as easy at it sounds. For sure, it needs lot of wisdom and courage. And character. And if each of us understands his or her responsibility and is righteous in electing his or her leaders, that can change our politics. Here comes the bigger problem. Whom to choose? If all leaders are corrupt and all are equally bad then whom should you choose. Well, this is not a overnight process. To cleanse up an entire nation, it is definitely going to take a good number of years. Remember, Rome is not built in a day. My point is, if each of us feels responsible to the nation and shows our patriotism by not being corrupt and by not getting carried away by regional or caste-based feelings, we can contribute to our nation's well being. And then, slowly but certainly India will arise from the dumps it is currently in.
Justice, Liberty and Equality are common virtues found in developing countries. The point here is not to ape developing countries but to understand the fact that these three virtues play a vital role in a nation's development. And if India needs to get anywhere close to becoming a superpower, we need to get our basics right. And We, the people of India need to be aware that each of us play a crucial role in contributing to India's success.
