Main nahi maanta...
...ki mera desh is duniya ka sabse mahaan desh hai. I heard this line in a movie, and it has gotten me thinking. India has had a great past, the cradle of one of the great civilizations, gave us the basis of modern mathermatics, birthplace of two of the biggest five religions in the world. But what does that mean to us now? Why, do we want to continue resting on past laurels, not even on our acheivements, but those of our forefathers who lived centuries ago.
The India of today is beset with unemployment and overpopulation, both seriously undermine the ability of our country to move forward. And these lead to illiteracy, hunger, poverty, disease, fundamentalism and a host of other problems which affect our basic standard of living. While we have been left behind in the industrial revolution, there is a chance that we may lose out in the information age, unless we are able to get our act together in quick time. While politicians are too busy renaming streets and cities, and building temples and mosques, no one is bothered with progress and development.
Make no mistake, the Indian workforce is among the most talented in the world, and equally hard working to match. But what is needed is a realization of our shortcomings, which must be followed by action. While western civilization has its drawbacks, we need to respect their acheivements, and learn from their mistakes, so that we dont repeat them. Unfortunately, we tend to brand them as "cultureless" and hence "good-for-nothing". This is not only observed among the illiterate poor, but also among the so-called educated upper class.
A typical example would be the spread of AIDS, which could hamper our progress in the 21st century. Any constructive discussion on 'sex-education' immediately brings deep resentment about how the west is ruining our moral fibre. We try to justify ourselves by saying that this doesnot happen in our culture, and that it is a conspiracy by them to corrupt our youth. This again leads to the same arguement that we are superior to them. No wonder that soon India is soon expected to have the highest incidence of AIDS in the world.
We need to move forward, and for that we need to improve ourselves. Let us learn from the mistakes others have made, so that we do not repeat them. But for that, we need to shed our superiority complex, and accept ourselves, not for what our fathers have done, but for what we need to do. That is the only way we could truly say - Mera Bharat Mahaan.
posted by Praveer @ 3:44 AM
8 Comments:
nice post.
unfortunately, admittance to own's weakness... was never an average indian's strength. and add to that a general lack of critical thinking at depth.
When being confident, one also needs to be humble to be able to learn from around him/her. But, in most cases the latter is missing. And in other cases, people cling to tradition to shield them from the other possibilities of the world, as they love to nestle in their home grown beliefs and feel afraid to venture out in the unknown. Unless the Indians as a mass realize that there is more to life than what they thought there was, progress as a whole is going to be daunting!
I had quoted George Bernard Shaw in an earlier post of mine. I would like to quote him again here, as its most relevant:
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man"
and as an Indian myth goes... The East is reasonable, while the West is not! So we lay cold and they grow hot!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Nice post ;)
This is the topic closest to my heart indeed...my desh...my motherland.
Truly 'Mera Bharat mahaan hai' and I'm proud to be Indian. Even with all the odds be it poverty, illiteracy, lack of resources,etc. India has made it BIG. Most big banners have Indians as an integral part of it. Its just that little more boost,zeal,resources and that edge, that impetus we need to do the wonders.
If I am asked which nation had been advanced in the ancient world in respect of education and culture then I would say it was - India. (Max Muller German Indologist)
hmm...sal. thats exactly the point i was trying to make. indians have made it big, but has india?
we still have a lot of problems back home, which need to be solved. and till we fix them, we cannot call outselves 'mahaan'. if we had one of the richest civilizations of ancient times, it is our fault, that we allowed iliteracy, poverty, etc to befall us. it is like saying that 'i am a great student because i passed, inspite of not studying.' but what about the guy who studies and got a perfect score.
if we want to take the credit for having a great past, then we must also take a greater blame for squandering such a head-start over other countries. unless we regain those glory days of old, we are not mahaan.
maybe we should say 'mera bharat mahaan tha' instead.
it is like saying that 'i am a great student because i passed, inspite of not studying.' but what about the guy who studies and got a perfect score.
I agree.. that the one who worked hard needs more credit. But finally wat counts is the result. And yes, Indians have it in them, that push is required... and they can make India a better place to be...! With various hurdles we'll take time, but I have faith in my motherland & I'm confident that India will make it BIG some day. Its people like us who shud contribute to its betterment & upliftment.
Good discussion topic .. I think its how you look at it ... India has a rich history ... we were one of the richest countries in the world ... ITs very difficult to handle power with resposibility. Thats what happened to India then .. thats what's happening to USA now. Once been bitten, progress requires time and patience. That is what India is doing.. its trying to stand on its own two feet. And frankly our culture and tradition are helping India grow into a super power. Try and look at the other side of the coin. Being an optimistic is a good way of looking into these things. I know it may not be the practical way but thinking positive and moving in the right direction always helps
I am kind of feeling sad...u know, its very easy for us to comment on India/Indian people/culture/current situation etc ...but think about it...We were "supposed" to be the future of India...the next generation...and now, we are so far away...leading a damn good life...not facing the problems that a common Indian man faces today ....many among us have already made up their mind-never to go back to India...choosing personal benefit over the country....
true, we can help India by being so far away...by doing charity or helping people in India...but even then I can only think of one example...Japan was crushed to ashes... not a single person chose to leave the country to lead a better life...together they worked and survived that miserable phase and look where Japan is today!
If you think ours is not a great country, then WE are not very great citizens either!
hmmm ... no offense pravs, but I dont think we are in a position to comment on these topics. I agree with you saying that there are problems back home, but I agree more with Reves in the way that if the youth/working force of the nation is busy in getting settled in the US and other countries (like all of us), then is there really a problem with India or is there a problem with us?
I completely agree that the traditions and cultures, while its good to have them, should stay as traditions and cultures. It should not thwart the progress. The church and the state should always be kept separate.
Ofcourse it is easy to say what I am saying and everyone cannot give up everything to join a movement in India. But we can certainly contribute to it in our way. We have had this discussion on the way to SB. A change is inevitable in India, especially in states like Bihar and UP where politics has surpassed levels of dirtiness. But things are changing back home.... Lalu not getting elected in Bihar in the recent elections shows some hope for Bihar! Many organisations work from here AID, Prajanet, ASHA which do good work there.
I have always maintained that to bring a change, start a movement, we dont need each and everyone to give up everything and invest 100% of their time in it. For a successful movement, we need people to work at all levels. There will always be ppl , so patriotic, that they will be ready to give up everything and work for a cause that will better India. (I salute them), but we also need people at other levels, some to sponsor these movements, some to encourage these people .... my point is that we need people to work at all levels with different % of participations and sacrifices. The correct thing is to identify which level you want to work in and start doing it, however small the involvement might be
The line with which you started this blog is said by SRK in Swadesh. Though his thoughts were correct that the church and the state should be kept separate, still, he himself was in the US for 10 years! Though his thoughts were correct, he was not correct in making those statements.
Post a Comment
<< Home