This article is a culmination of my procrastination for almost a year. Yet, nothing much has changed since I wrote my last blog entry. In fact, nothing much has changed since I started maintaining this blog, which dates back to 2009. The question that I ask myself and my peers is that- Have we stagnated as individuals, as a society and as a nation?
As a child, I used to be happy most of the time. At the beginning of this millennium, when social media was not even in the picture, internet phenomenon had just started capturing the imagination of Indians, and most of the people around me seemed to be happy and cheerful. There were very few news channels and cable TV was considered as a luxury. Hence, most of the free time was spent with friends and family, with a sense of gay abandon. Those were happy times, because I can recall one good feeling that almost everyone felt during those times – hope. India’s software industry was booming, and had already gained a reputation. Indians were winning prestigious awards in the various fields like science, literature and economics. India had a thumping victory over Pakistani terrorist infiltrators in the Kargil war, so even patriotism was running high among civilians. People were getting reasonably paying jobs in the upcoming BPO sector and overall, the public sentiment was positive.
Cut to present day, and these seem to be news from a very distant past. All we hear and think about today are either of these- corrupt politicians, arrogant ministries, immoral celebrities, economic slowdown and a media that always seems to be on the overdrive. To cut the cynicism, we can count a few events that surely had a positive impact on the average Indian, like winning the cricket world cup, sending a spacecraft to moon, cell phone revolution, 100 crore+ club bollywood movies (basically Salman Khan), Anna Hazare and his mass movement, and the advent of social networking generation. But when we sum up our achievements in the past decade, they seem a blur when compared to what our ex-president Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam had dreamed of as ‘Vision 2020’. And therein lies the root of all our current problems…we don’t have a collective dream for our nation today!
We can rant about corruption and non-functioning administrations for days and months, but the truth is that it is we, the common man, who define the essence of a democratic nation. For us Indians, that is the greatest problem since we never have thought collectively. We are selfish people who are privately smart but publicly stupid. We still continue to divide ourselves on the basis of caste, religion, region and language! Given these differences, it makes us impossible to have a common dream for our nation because after 65 years of freedom, we are still coping up with the idea of a dream called a united ‘India’.
Every Indian who set out for the states in the turmoil times of 1970s & 80s went there to pursue the ‘Great American Dream’. It meant nothing other than to lead life with wealth, health, security and a sense of honour. Americans respect talent, unlike most Indians who vouch for power and connections. Working abroad in a fair state gave them what our nation could never give. Brain drain has been the hot debate topic in pseudo intellectual circles for a long time now. Any number of pay commissions will be ineffective in stopping this process of losing generations after generations of you bright young Indians, because it is not the money but the idea of a great nation that will capture the imagination of today’s youth. We need to have our own ‘Great Indian Dream’, an India where justice prevails, talent is respected above money and power, people are rich and lead a healthy life, and finally these people give back to the society which has made them what they are!
The mood after our independence was upbeat, because people hoped for a better life under the leadership of their favored son, who gave the people a dream of a prosperous nation that India once used to be. That dream has long faded, and all that remains of it are scars, like the emergency period of 1974. It is time we show ourselves a new dream, the dream of a rejuvenated India, the India that our forefathers dreamt of. We have not fared badly since our independence, but we cannot deny that we could have done much much better. Blaming our leaders won’t do any good because we only selected them and allowed them to rule us with dishonesty, like little arrogant kings and undermined the power of democracy.
Last year, Anna Hazare and his team members showed the entire nation the power of unity, one single voice against corruption rattled the cages of the highest authorities living in Lutyens. Their movement may have died down gradually, but the good thing that it brought among us was the hope of an India free of corruption. The rustic old man wearing a Gandhi cap and fighting for a selfless cause caught the imagination of the average Indian middle class. He brought an awakening, especially among the college going youth, and in a magnitude that none of his closest supporters would have imagined when they first started it. The reason why they chose to support this diminutive man from an unknown village of Maharashtra was because he gave them a dream of a corruption free nation. And we are going to need many more such dreams, to realize the ultimate goal of India being counted as a developed nation.
We need to have a dream about India, where we differentiate people not on the basis of their caste, religion or language, but on the basis of their talent and capabilities. We need a dream of India, which will be counted as a land of opportunities rather than a land of biasedness; an India, where everyone is educated and able to earn their livelihoods, breaking the shackles of ignorance and religious superstitions. These are dreams that all of us have thought about at least once, but never did anything to act upon it, because we were devoid of hope for our nation. Such dreams can only be converted to reality when we have charismatic leaders, who can influence the masses like Anna did. And with all our austerity in place, we have to admit that such leaders are present today and maybe a few more will come up in due course of time, to take India from the edge of a possible abyss to heights unreached. And as responsible citizens, it should be our duty to bring forward such leaders keeping aside our prejudices of past about politicians. We, as a nation, should never give up on ourselves because in case no one comes forward to show us that dream, we need to have our own dream and act upon it to give our children a life free from terrorism, corruption, crime and hatred.
“You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us. And the world will live as one.” - John Lennon
"We need to have our own ‘Great Indian Dream’, an India where justice prevails, talent is respected above money and power, people are rich and lead a healthy life, and finally these people give back to the society which has made them what they are!" Very well written PB and very pertinent. I am sure every Indian will be able to completely relate to every single point raised in this article. I did!
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