India Shining

Today we celebrate 65^th Independence Day and hail India as she reaches newer heights of achievements.

The last decade has seen India taking on new challenges, leaping to new heights and aiming for more.

With a population of just over 1 billion, India is the world’s largest democracy. In the past decade, the country has witnessed accelerated economic growth, emerged as a global player with becoming the world’s fourth largest economy in purchasing power parity terms, and made progress on most of the Millennium Development Goals.

It is heartening to know that India did fairly well  in face of global economic melt-down .

However, it was also a decade  when India saw more terror strikes and unforgettable cruelties- Attack on Parliament, twice turning the city of Mumbai into a hell hole, and killing of  hundreds of innocent lives by our own citizens who have turned against us- the Maoists, ULFAs  and other extremists.It is this that we should be concerned about. Why would our own citizens turn so much of violence and hatred against their fellow citizens?

The answer lies in our indifference and lack of political will.

200,000 farmers have killed themselves during the past decade.  As early as in 1928, under the British rule, An Indian farmer was born in debt, lived in debt and left the burden of debt as inheritance to his next generation.

We hoped to see things being different under our own elected government. Unfortunately, today in 2011, an Indian farmer’s average debt remains at a staggering rs 13 thousand annually.

The number of people living below the poverty line is  260 Million  making India home to one-third of the world’s poor. This, even after 65 years of Independence.

If this  lopsided development continues, our nation stands the risk of being fragmented .

At this juncture, we should pause our mad rush of development and delve deeper into what Gandhiji had said. Because his economic ideas still hold relevance today.

Recent policies clearly shows that  large-scale industrialization destroys the fabric of human relationship since it is governed by mass production and benefits only a few.

We cannot have real peace in the world if we look at each other's countries as sources for raw materials or as markets for finished industrial goods. The seeds of war are sown with economic  greed. Our own history stands to this claim.

For Gandhi, the spirit and the soul of India rested in the village communities. He said, "The true India is to be found not in its few cities, but in its seven hundred thousand villages. If the villages perish, India will perish too."

So as we celebrate 65th   Independence Day, we should take a new pledge- that of making India and every one of its citizens empowered- in every respect. Let us also be proud of the glorious legacy left by our forefathers  and be determined to bring in a  brilliant future for all Indians, befitting the world’s largest democracy. Let us shed our indifference and lassitude towards the evils that plague our country and bring forth a truly powerful nation undivided in its ideals and people. Let the spirit of freedom reign supreme in our heart and soul. HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY.