THE NOT SO 'GREAT' INDIANS

January 26th 2016- An air of patriotism pervaded the atmosphere all over the nation. Most places of New Delhi were cordoned off due to the Republic Day parade and it was a good experience to wake up in our capital city on that historic date. Though I had to catch an early morning flight, I could sense an aura of pride in the air in the biting cold morning of Lutyens Delhi. The media was abuzz with glimpses of the freedom movement and the drafting of the Indian Constitution. Happy Republic Day was trending on social media with lakhs of users updating their statuses with patriotic messages and eulogizing our nation in glowing terms. It was a glowing day in no small terms and it felt great to celebrate "Being Indian".

India is great, Indians not great conundrum..

While having a free flowing, open discussion on various issues a few days later, a friend remarked that despite all the gargantuan problems plaguing the nation, we still say "Mera Bhaarat Mahaan". This set off a chain of thoughts in my mind and I started wondering about the line. Is India a great country? Is it just a hyped up, jingoistic sentiment? Well, the answers were not forthcoming immediately. Around the same time, I happened to rewatch the classic film 'A' of Kannada superstar Upendra. In a highly emotional scene, when a foreigner makes a cheap remark about the nation, the main protagonist that is Upendra himself shoots back that India is a great country, Indian culture is great, Indian tradition is great, Indian heritage is great, Indian soil is great. But just then he comes face to face with goons chasing a girl trying to outrage her modesty and with sheer disappointment he utters "But Indians are not great".  Well, that nailed it right on the head. This was the link that I was in search of; the missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle. It is commonplace to find people proclaiming "Iss desh ka kuch nahi ho sakta", but is a country separate from the people who reside there? Is it not the people who make a country? The state of a country is reflective of its citizens. With these thoughts running in my mind, I started observing the happenings around me that exposed some of the frailties of the mindset and behaviours of the average Indian who walks on the roads- the Aam Aadmis of the nation. 

In one instance, as I was riding in the log jammed roads of Bengaluru, a BMTC bus started overtaking me and as I slowed down for the bus to move ahead, a man put his head out of the window and sprayed a high dose of saliva on the road! I was lucky enough to notice him sticking his head out and if I had not braked instantly, the offerings from his mouth would have landed squarely on me! Phew this was a lucky escape indeed. This unfortunately is no solitary case. Every minute on the road, one can see people spitting on the roads irrespective of the location, the time and of course without any consideration of the people coming beside and behind. It has become so all pervasive that I keep an eye out on these spitters in addition to the road ahead! You never know from where or how these people can spray.

Traffic is becoming an unsolvable problem in most cities and while there are rules to be followed for our own safety, many take them as an irritation. Many days, I have been a victim of abuse as I have stopped seeing the red traffic signal. Some of the gentlemen behind who for some unknown reason seem to be in a great hurry honk furiously and hurl abuses even more ferociously as I blocked their way. I wonder how many minutes they would have saved by jumping the signal when the traffic is already chock-a-block after the signal! The list will get bigger if one just observes the way rules are broken every minute of the day.

 Sab Chalta Hai Bhai..

The scenic Lal Bagh in Bengaluru was in a state of horror after the flower show that is held for every Republic Day and Independence Day. Tonnes of garbage were literally strewn all around with plastic covers, papers, food items covering most places. The garden sees the same situation after every show every single year. One evening just a day after the show, as I was having a stroll in the garden, I overheard a man speaking to another fellow accompanying him. He was having a leisurely walk with corn in his hand and seeing the garbage around the place, he cursed the civic sense of the people. So far so good, but what he did a minute later stunned me. The corn in his hand went straight to the edge of the road rather than the dustbin just a few yards in front! The roads are still dirty, lakes still emanate a foul stench, and mounds of garbage are still piled up on footpaths and sides of the roads. What one sees are people cynically trashing the Swacch Bhaarat campaign - "Oh, this was just a publicity blitzkrieg by the PM and nothing else. What change has happened after this campaign started? It is an abject failure." say many. Well, can the Prime Minister come to your roads and gullies and clean them? All of us need tangible change in the society, but we are not willing to put our hands up to put it into practice. When people visit a few foreign countries, they return with great stories about the system, the cleanliness, the traffic and abuse our nation. But the same people who followed all the rules of that country with 101% adherence fail to do the same here. As soon as they land in India, it is back to the "Sab Chalta Hai" attitude.

The 'World Class' Indian!

We demand great infrastructure and facilities. We want everything "world class". But are we in a state where we really deserve such high class facilities? Do we maintain any system vying for the world class tag?

Recently there was news about the new Varanasi express that was launched with much fanfare that had a high degree of sophistication in the coaches. Just a week later, the pictures in the new coaches posed a tale of shame. It was dirtier than a toilet, the sinks were choked and there was litter everywhere. Closer home in Bengaluru, a few bus stops were given a face lift with upgraded facilities. Fifteen days later, the lights in the stop have vanished, the seats are already broken and the place is back to ground zero. How in the world can we progress if we are stuck in some issues like this at the grassroots level?

The mute spectators 

We have gone to a state wherein we no longer bother about our country, our fellow brethren or our great history. Two months ago, it was reported that a bike rider had a devastating accident with a lorry and was lying in a pool of blood with his lower body cut off from the upper body. It was the most horrifying scene, but what was even more horrifying was people flocking around with mobile cameras in hand and taking a picture to post on WhatsApp rather than extending immediate help that the poor man was begging for. This leads us to the question "What is wrong with us?". This was certainly not the Indianness that existed a few centuries earlier.

Intolerant India and the Intolerant Indian.

Now we have intellectuals and writers who talk of intolerance in the country and raised a huge hue and cry at the national level denting the image of the nation around the world. But all their 'concerns' evaporated soon after the Bihar polls. For political gains and for opposing an ideology, these people had no qualms in tagging an entire country as intolerant for the misdeeds of a few.Some celebrities even doubted whether it is a safe country to live in! In a debate on NDTV, a young girl remarked that she was ashamed about India and being an Indian. In a university campus that should be a centre where young minds are honed, a few students openly supported a terrorist like Afzal Guru and raised anti-national slogans. Interestingly, the man who faces the allegations, Kanhaiyya Kumar is branded as a hero by the media with prime time coverage of his speeches!

Asaduddin Owaisi, the hate monger openly declares that he will not utter Bhaarat Maata Ki Jai even if a gun is held to his head. Well Mr Owasi, is there any need to give it a communal colour? Is not India your homeland and is it not your duty to hail your nation? If it is a burden for you, the world is a vast place. By the way, there is a special picture of a dialogue from Akshay Kumar's Baby for citizens like you! When people are taking something from the country, what are they giving back to it? These kinds of precipitous, reprehensible and sordid attitudes? 

Swades, WE- The People..

The current Indian is filled with hypocrisy and cynicism. He complains about everything not trying to decipher whether there is any loophole in himself. He junks the system and says that nothing will change conveniently forgetting that he is very much a part of the system. In the first place, who created this system that he calls a mess? He is the creator and he alone has the power to change it as well. The problem is that we have forgotten our golden lineage and our rich history before the foreign invasions. When Mohammad Ghazni plundered India 17 times, he not only destroyed our land, but also our ethos. The British later sucked out every straw of pride that Indians had. They dealt such severe blows to the bones that even today, a majority of our people still struggle to get on their knees. They left behind a rotten system in place and we have not been able to fully break off the shackles yet. The preceding paragraphs highlighted the ways of the modern Indian who spits on roads, who never maintains cleanliness in surroundings, who has a chalta hai attitude, who has no regard for the motherland, who is willing to let the nation be shamed around the world, who is not proud of being an Indian. These are just a few instances of the problems We, the Great Indians have created.

When Indians are not great, the country too starts shifting down from its high pedestal of great to not great! That is happening right in front of our eyes. Indians made India a great country eons ago, and it is again the Indians who have to get the glory back to India. It is time to reaffirm our faiths in what being Indian is all about. Being proud of the country for one or two days a year won't suffice. It is necessary that a billion Indians are proud of their Indianness and India 365 days a year and 24 hours a day! Being an Indian is a joy, a sweet responsibility, a distinguished privilege. Many Indians have been the guiding lights of the world; this is the land where great souls have wandered. It is time that the sab chalega attitude is replaced with more responsibility and accountability. Since intolerance is the buzz word from a few months, why not be intolerant of shoddy mindsets and blasé attitudes that are eschewing the progress of a dynamic India? 

The energetic lions who will shape modern India?

Swami Vivekananda had once commented: “Give me 100 energetic young men and I shall transform India. My faith is in younger generation, modern generation. Out of them will come my workers. They will work out whole problems like lions." Yes, this is the clarion call now for all Indians to reinvent the identity of an Indian, to awaken the dormant force that is in deep slumber. When Indians become great again, India's destiny too would be fulfilled and yes, I say with conviction "Mera Bhaarat Mahaan. Hum sab milke karenge Bhaarat Mahaan!". Are you game for it?