My Own, My Country - India

Beautiful paddy fields of Assam

Come January I just can't help myself as I am overwhelmed with a great dose of nationalism. It starts with assessing my very own Republic. What can I do,? How can I be the change? What should my country be like for the teeming billions remains my question. My mind does not rest at New Year resolutions of merely quit smoking or losing weight, as they are more often than not come undone not to mention completely insignificant.

Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity remain the guiding spirit for such a vast and diverse country like India and may nothing ever change that. The Constitution of India came into effect of 26th January 1950 and it is celebrated with much fanfare every year but in all the parade of strength may we never forget what is the most important of them all. The Constitution was adopted by the Indian Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, and came into effect on 26 January 1950 with a democratic government system, completing the country's transition towards becoming an independent republic. It's has remained the most significant testament to our existence a democracy and a guiding light for my life.

 I look around and marvel, quite full of  questions how each year my beautiful yet complicated country struggles to find answers. It can be best observed while I stay on the road for work as it gives me an opportunity to know my country on daily basis. From east to west, from north to south, from urban to rural, from affluent to poor, to the privileged to marginalised; may all the voices be counted, may peace be with all. But it's easier said than done. This remains my unwavering goal each January.

Children crying, being almost offensive, mothers eager to feed the families, fathers surrendering to willful ways of teenagers, newly weds, first time flyers posing every step of the way from the check-in ques to the tarmac or railway platforms eager to share the most happy second of their lives. Cows on the road, goats on the highway, tongas, buses, camels, elephants, cacophony of traffic horns, welcome to the most crowded and soon to be most populous country experience on this planet. Each time I board a train, a flight, a bus, I am amazed by this thriving nation and feel so overwhelmed. Although we don't have the luxury of six degrees of separation of the Western world, I cannot but marvel how people accommodate each other in this thronging universe of humanity. Our trains are slow, roads narrow, water unsafe to drink in many areas and toilets a challenge on the road, however, through all these daily challenges each average Indian somehow negotiates life with immense patience and grace on regular basis. I cannot but marvel at this phenomenon everyday.

I have witnessed this grace in ques when for nights and days on end entire India qued up for their own hard earned money when India was willfully "demonetized" to now when India is being "Aadhar Linked" in 2018. Although Aadhar started out as the Unique Identification Number for access to social entitlements like Direct Bank Transfers it has for less than wise sense has been turned into an existential avatar of an Indian citizen. It is a grave mistake making India vulnerable like never before in this complicated world of cyber crime. Not only it infringes upon the Right to Privacy upheld by the well articulated decree of Supreme Court of India it also makes Indians a sitting duck for being robbed and maimed without having a say to their life's security in both financial and safety perspectives. The "New India" projected by the Government may die a very shocking death in the hands of political rivals next door if we do not wake up to our senses. It is absolutely unnecessary to create a country wide frenzy over linking Aadhar to banks, telecom companies, railways, mutual funds, insurance companies, airports, schools, hospitals and work places. Making us vulnerable like never before in a country of small savings boasting of the largest middle class society in this world.

 A headline in the newspaper catches my eye, " India pushes for Hindi as an official language in UN". In recent times there has been a resurgence like never before of "Hindi, Hindu and Hindutava" trying to overshadow the plurality of a nation where people speak a different language every 5 kms. Not to mention follow diverse religious beliefs. The divisive political lines is albeit scary and alarming for a nation which is a melting pot of languages both Dravidian and Indo - Aryan origin.

The Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution lists 22 languages,^[12] which have been referred to as scheduled languages and given recognition, status and official encouragement. In addition, the Government of India has awarded the distinction of classical language to Tamil, Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Odia. - Wikipaedia

It will be a gross dishonour to our country and it's teeming billions speaking multiple languages if we think we can be denoted as a Hindi speaking nation. I am hoping better sense will prevail and India will not pursue this line of unwanted divisiveness within the country.

Self Help Group at Gram Panchayat Amloda, Salumber

May we uphold the uniqueness of our Constitution and enact upon it. The sea change it can create is when you visit the Gram Panchayats and see people getting counted. I know it is far from perfect world but the fact that it is in practice and makes mandatory 30% representation of women it acts as the smallest form of building unit for swaraj (self-governance) and democracy providing opportunity to the poorest and voiceless. In a world fractured with self-interest and terror may my largest democracy thrive like never before. May we better it and strengthen it in 2018 is my wish.