The Gap

Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance.- Jawaharlal Nehru

This speech to the Constituent Assembly on 14th Aug 1947 still gives me a strange feeling..i don't know what that feeling is..pride..patriotism..hope...despair...its a weird mixture of all those. I have read this particular extract hundreds of times and i still keep going back to it.

There was a time when we Indians appreciated the gift of freedom..the privilege to make our own decisions and the honour of helping make this country a great one. Where has all that emotion gone...have we become so indifferent towards the progress of this nation that we spent more than 200 years to free? What has changed?

Politicians no longer enter politics out of a sense of duty to their fellow Indians...regionalism is gaining ground...corruption is rampant...the red tape stifles us..the guardians of law and order are not in order themselves...the judiciary is at loggerheads with the government....license raj is over but now its quota that rules....power and money are the only things that matter anymore!
Who is to blame? the politicians? the police? the administration?

I don't think so! We..the indifferent ones with the " chalta hai" attitude are squarely to blame for this mess. How many of us exercise our franchise? How many of us think twice before paying that bribe to the cop? How many of us accept pathetic service with silent resignation? How many of us still do not pay our taxes? Why do we have this colonial hangup that makes us feel that we shouldn't expect the best..be it product or treatment from others? Why do we indulge in senseless violence and meaningless "bandhs" all the time? Why do we even remotely consider religion a factor in making any decision when it should be merit? Why do we suffer those who do?

I don't know why i am indulging in this kind of a diatribe...its just not me...i guess its cos i happened to read this speech...and was saddened by the fact that in spite of the amazing talent and strengths that we, as a nation, possess, we are still spiralling down.. out of control.....saddened by the thought of what we could have been ..and what we are.