India shining??

On the eve of India's 65th independence, Indians across the country and abroad were absorbed into a festive mood to celebrate the essence of independence and commemorate the sacrifice of our freedom fighters for our motherland. It is a day that comes along with a lot of pride and joy for every Indian.

Today, when I breathe in this free nation- the sovereign, secular, democratic republic of India, on one hand my head is held high with pride, for this country that served 200 years of slavery, today is one of the world's largest and fastest growing economy; Chandrayan, White Revolution, Kalpana Chawla, two times cricket world champion are just a few examples of India's success in various fields.

While on the other hand, I stoop down with shame when I realize that deep down, behind that astonishing success story, lies India's ugly truth-"CORRUPTION". Our Government is scarred with innumerable scams-2G scam, CWG, Swiss bank accounts, Bofors, Adarsh apartments and in addition to it, the mockery of the Jan Lokpal Bill has further deteriorated the prestige of our Govt. Our politicians, be it the ruling party or the opposition, are just playing the game of power and the blame game among themselves.

On this note, I would like to ask myself- are only the politicians of this country corrupt? Is the common man of India who claims to be a responsible citizen of the nation utterly honest and not corrupt? On 15th August, 2011 a very disturbing incident took place that has indeed forced me to ask myself this question- Will India ever shine??

I was travelling by bus on my usual route which charges me  Rs.15/-. I was taken aback when the conductor issued me a Rs.25/- ticket. I, very politely told him that there has been a mistake and that he should give me a Rs.15/- ticket. I tried convincing him but instead he gave me a piece of his mind. Not wanting to create a scene in public, I quietly handed over to him the money. Frankly speaking, I was very disturbed. It's not the question of monetory loss or gain. It's the question of truth and the violation of my fundamental rights. Probably, if I had taken the issue to the transport corporation, that particular bus conductor could have lost his job.

I'm sure that many others like me, have gone through similar situations. The auto-rickshaw meters are almost always tampered and the travellers end up paying more than the actual cost. Whenever such a thing happens, if we contact the traffic police then and there, maybe the auto-rickshaw driver will get thrashed and we pay just how much is required. But, we refrain from doing so.

Over the years, the middle class population of this country has developed an "arre chalta hai" kind of attitude. This is nothing but our support for corruption. The whole system of this country is so much politically manipulated and power driven, that we have been, infact forced to develop such a carefree attitude, which in turn supports corruption. So this becomes a vicious cycle, the outcome of which we all know quite well.

In order to break this, any one phase of the cycle has to change. Expecting the people at power to change is as unreasonable as expecting the Sun to rise from west. But, the later is quite possible, i.e. the common lot of this nation will have to come out of their carefree attitude and become more responsive towards the Govt, its policies and their implementation and raise voice against any form of corruption. 

This is not an easy task. But, we all know that Rome was not built in one day. We have already taken our first step towards it: Anna Hazare's protest and the nationwide support for his protest is a clear indication that the common man shall no longer tolerate corruption in silence.

On this note, I remember the popular dialogue from the hit movie "Rang De Basanti": Koi v desh perfect nahi hota hai, usse perfect banana padta hai...

Years ago, our patriotic heros made an attempt to build a perfect nation. But, in the course of time their attempts have failed innumerable times. Now, its our time to rebuild this nation and make it perfect. I can't help but imagine a day when the entire country will get together and fight against corruption. The recent happenings give me a feeling that with every passing moment, this day is drawing closer and closer. Then, a feeble voice from deep within my heart tells: "India will shine!!"