Free India?

“If I were asked under what sky the human mind has most fully developed some of its choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest problems of life, and has found solutions, I should point to India.”
- Max Muller
This admirable opinion of our country is merely confined to those who do not face the issues that the youth of India deals with, today. Though the youth of our country is repeatedly reminded of the belief that India was insinuated by the Almighty, himself- it is rather abstruse how our country has become an epitome of a melting pot of masses. Our country is retrograding and looking through the lens of the youth, it rather hard to cope with the system while also dealing with some of the most pressing issues any nation could face.
Corruption being one of them. It is a pandemic in India-and it may be a misconception that corruption is only confined to the government-it is prevalent in every section of the Indian society. Almost every Indian promotes corruption- he may be the one imposing his wishes to satiate his needs in the name of the government’s tabloids, or he may be the one who is forced to bribe. Although, India is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, it does not disturb us Indians, we continue to either impose our demands, or fulfill others’ demands. The politicians of our country aren’t of much help, either, considering that most of them constitute that part of the population of our country who impose their never-ending demands on those who cannot fulfill their own basic needs, let alone those of others. This state of our country is pretty ironic, considering that Indians are very religious and while religion opposes corruption, corruption is perhaps the most omnipotent issue which India faces today.

“This, our motherland, gives equal shelter to people speaking different languages and following different faiths.”
-Atharvaveda.
Communalism is another issue which has been prevalent in the Indian society since the British policy of ‘divide and rule’. The Hindus and the Muslims have been fighting for ‘their’ India-not as a country, but as individual communities. Although there were differences between these two communities -which India comprised of-earlier, before the tyrannical rule of the British, most of the issues were usually sorted by a proviso. It was during the destruction of the Babri Masjid that the apoplectics of the Hindus and the Muslims became apparent. The Babri Masjid was built by the ruler Babar in Ayodhya- which is considered to be Lord Ram’s birthplace. It is held that the mosque was built by destroying an existing temple which was built to venerate the birth of Lord Ram. The Hindus got displeased by this discovery years after it was made, and destroyed the bravura mosque in the name of religion. It was poignant how the Hindus and the Muslims made their apoplectics apparent in the form of communal riots which practically brought down the whole country. Another epitome of religion gone unsavory is the Gujarat riots of 2002 when 58 pilgrims, returning from Ayodhya were burnt alive in a train following an altercation between the Hindus and the Muslims.
It demeans religion as well as communities when pious individuals do not consider putting a kibosh on senseless violence.

“The human overpopulation is the topic I see as the most vital to solve if our children and grandchildren are to have a good quality of life.”
-Alexandra Paul.
Overpopulation is an issue which has been neglected since a very long time in India. It is not merely ephemeral and is more or less increasing giving credit to apathy by the inhabitants of our country. Overpopulation has given birth to unemployment which has, consequently, lead to penury. It has also put pressure on the already polluted environment, a fact, which the government in our country realizes, but is unable to take into account. Overpopulation is an issue in India which should be dealt with pragmatically- it should not be belittled- as pollution is merely a prelude to the more horrific consequences of overpopulation. It is essential to address the issue of overpopulation if our future generations are to be able to survive in an already congested country.

“You can tell the condition of a nation by a nation by looking at the status of its women.”
-Jawaharlal Nehru.
Women have long been subjugated in the Indian society, and it would be empirically incorrect to even suggest that women are not considered illicit in urban India, which, the fact that their identity is obfuscated when they get married (which is one of the many Indian conventions which make women a liability), can amply prove. Also, most men belonging to most families expect their wives to give up the years of turmoil that they spent in acquiring a decent education- so that they would not be a financial liability in the long run- so that their wives do not divert their attention towards their respective vocations. Till date, women in the Indian society are considered to acquire an education, to make them sufficient for a wealthy, educated family. The women in any nation- as Mr. Nehru suggests- are an epitome of a nation’s development, they should be cherished and cared for, as they too, have a voice- which our society suppresses at every opportunity they can possible get.
While it may not be quite facile to eradicate all the issues which India faces today- and it is probably easier to oversight them- it is very much possible to approach and address these issues. Overpopulation, unemployment, penury, illiteracy, unawareness and oppression of women are all interlinked- but in the long run, it would pay to try our best to emulate these issues. The fact that Indians are said to be proud of their tradition is apparently ironic, considering that most Indians would leave this country to rot, at the first opportunity they could get. It is human to not want to take the initiative, but it is ignoble to not try to emancipate an issue which millions face in the same country. It won’t take a Gnostic to improvise the condition of our country; all it would take is a little sense of patriotism….