Thursday 22 November 2012

India Today


Since politics is the architect of any nation, and the election system is the architect of the system of politics in any country, I would like to start by talking about the election system in our country. 

I'd call our election system as a festival of bribe, booze and biryani. I say 'festival' because the period of elections is a time of merry, not only for the politicians, but also for the people. For the politicians, it is the votes and the imminent powers and positions, and for the people, it is free food, drinks, household items and services; in other words, election time is a period of festivities where the majority of the Indian population ends up raping our motherland.  Wait, let's raise the first question. Is our country a home for dreamers and leaders or a breeding ground for beggars? Why do our tongues hang out on the sense of getting something free? Empowerment is a sinful deed in our country. 'The rich have to be rich, the poor have to be poor.' - this is the mantra on which our Indian politics is running. And yes, words like 'Change' and 'Development' are words of filth that are highly unacceptable in our nation. 

The second question. Are we a true democracy? We claim our nation to be one of the biggest democracies in the world; but according to me, if we call our country to be a democracy, it is nothing but hypocrisy.  We are a corrupt country showcasing ourselves as a great country under the blankets of democracy. We talk high about our past, of how great a nation India was and how our self-esteem and dignity were wiped out by the British invasion. But wait, what about now? Aren't we ourselves doing the same what the British did once upon a time? We are not allowed to select our leaders directly, then in what way is it appropriate to call ourselves a democracy? 

You might be knowing the recent arrest of two girls in Mumbai for their posts against the bandh in regard to the demise of  a Maharashtra political icon (I don't want to mention his name). If the demise of a politician has to be marked by a bandh, then I had say there are millions dying of hunger and poverty, what about them? You might say there is a difference between a politician and a common man, a difference of power and prestige, but I would like to remind you that it is the common man who has given that power, it is from the common man's sweat and blood the politician's prestige was born.

There is something called 'freedom of speech' that is present in our constitution. What does that mean? In our nation, if you speak something sensible, you will be behind the bars. But then, if you resort to rubbish talks and ridiculous acts, if your mouth dances to insane issues and meaningless comments, you will be hailed and made a member of the parliament (I guess that's how our parliament was formed). You speak the truth about a politician, about our government, and you will be stamped as a criminal and a traitor. Speaking the truth is condemned in this land of Mahatma Gandhi. Is 'truth' a taboo in India? 

Now, let me focus on the current Indian mentality. I am not the President or the PM to really analyse the current state of our nation, but still, I would like to share with you a few thoughts of mine that were born out of my experience. We want India to rock at the Olympics. At the time of Olympic games, it is a general habit of us to compare our country with those of Olympic-hero nations like China and USA. We criticise our country's performance and talk high about other countries' achievements. We say Indians don't have a sporting sense. But then, we don't want our children to get into sports. We brainwash them by discouraging them in every possible way, and show sports as something negative and unsuccessful. Let's come to cricket, which is like a religion in our country, or rather, a binding religion, a religion that unites all other religions. We want India to win every match it plays, to bring home every world cup it is a part of. If we lose a match, we begin to tag our players as useless and irresponsible. We criticise our players in such a way and talk as if losing a game is a heinous sin. But we never want our children to become cricketers. And the explanations we give are far from sensible; saying Cricket is full of politics and one needs a cricketing background to succeed in the game. We will come to cinema, something that is as common as brushing our teeth daily. Comparisons are made between Indian and Hollywood cinema. We accuse Indian Directors for artificiality and lack of quality. We taunt them by saying that all they know is item and duet songs, vulgar comedy and cheap stories. But hey, hold on, are we okay with our children becoming actors or filmmakers? The answer is a NO. We want to watch films, even try to watch pirated versions, but it is a big no when it comes to our children making films. Why so? Yeah, because films too have politics. And one needs a film background to succeed. Otherwise, you would end up on the roads. #whatrubbish!
Lastly, I want to focus on politics, which is like a backbone for a nation. Which can either make or break a nation. For us, politics is an ocean of filth and vermin. The government is corrupt, the leaders are inefficient, lawlessness is plaguing our country etc.; this is what we say. Most people feel politics to be a sin, as a word that shouldn't be uttered. We, as usual, compare our nation's politics with that of USA or Japan and throw tantrums at our own government. We criticize our political scene in such a way, as if we had been researching India's political history for decades. And when it comes to our children joining politics, our mouths begin to spit discouragement and negativity. Serving the nation should be done by everyone else, except us. We are an exception. We have so many problems and lots of responsibilities. And hence, politics is not a good choice.

The tag-line for all the situations similar to the above ones is advising our children to study well, get into a good job, and lead a safe, secured and settled life. 'Someone has to come and Change India. But that someone doesn't include me' - This is the mantra that is penetrating through our breaths. We say India has to develop, but we often forget that today's children of ours' are tomorrow's citizens of this country.

We got to remember this; we don't have the right to blame the system unless we are ready to do something for it. 

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