Anyone following the Indian political scene in the last few weeks would have definitely come across the mad antics of our political leaders and their inflammatory comments regarding certain section of the Indian populace.
(LINK 1: http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20080218&fname=Mumbai+%28F%29&sid=1 )
(LINK 2: http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20080207&fname=tejinder&sid=1 )
How disgusting you would think.
Or is it?? Before you start abusing me, allow me to put forth my views.
Let's ask ourselves 2 simple questions?
1) How often have we, in India, broken the rules and even stopped to contemplate that we have done something wrong? For example, travelling on buses and local trains without a ticket?
2) Is it really outrageous to hear our politicians talking about demography based division? Ask any non-vegetarin, non-brahmin about the reception he/she gets if he tries renting an apartment in Mylapore, Chennai??
The simple fact is our politicians have only brought out in the open something that already exists in our society. I would go further and say that it's actually institutionalised in our thought process.
The issue is not whether my north indian friends take pride in breaking the law and boasting about it - I am sure there are people who do it and probably there are more who would do it given a chance.
The issue is not whether someone from a different state is coming to your state to take away your (??) job or corrupting your state's culture - chances are, that you would not have done that job (or are probably not qualified to do that job) and are probably doing nothing to uphold your state's culture anyways.
The fundamental issue is - who do we owe our alleigance to AND do we have what it takes to regulate ourselves? Unfortunately on both accounts, we have our heads the wrong way around. The last thing we owe alleigance to is our country and the last thing we want to do is regulate ourselves.
This explains why we still have a north / south divide, a brahmin / non-brahmin divide, a 'sab chalta hai' attitude, corruption as second nature etc etc. If we had taken pride in our country and had the ability to regulate ourselves, such political gimmicks would not have got the supoprt it did. If we do not change ourselves, the day will not be long where you will be discriminated on the basis of which locality you stay (oh those posh guys in Colaba - Mumbai, RA Puram - Chennai, Boat Club - Pune) or the industry you work in (Oh those IT guys earning fat paychecks).
The other more worrying aspect is the growing divide between the rich and the poor - the wealth divide between the haves and the have nots. As India forges ahead on its growth path, we have to be mindful of inclusive growth. Growth that provides upliftment and benefit to all sections of the society. The consequences of skewed growth over the next 10-15 years will be severe. Imagine, if 10-15 years down the line we have a skewed growth - Imagine the opportunities it provides a wicked political mind to exploit the gap between the rich and the poor. We will not be able to escape the consequences of such a scenario. One thing we must all be aware of is the fact that 'You can never preach peace to am empty stomach'. I leave it to your imagination as to what can one do in such desperation.
Let's make a start by taking pride in our country, respecting our countrymen, regulating ourselves, do our bit to contribute to the society and help the poor.
Remember - The issue is not North Indians versus Maharashtrians. It is not Hindu vs Muslims. It is pride in India.
No comments:
Post a Comment