This is the continuation of my earlier article "Color Color What Color?" I got varied response from my readers/friends. Key points
were (for and against) about why did we fail, are/were we really better than
the western world . While I accept that these are good questions, I do not want
to speculate on how India would have fared if Brits did not rule us and Moguls
did not invade us. Neither do I want to prove that Indian philosophy was/is
better than western philosophy nor it is flawless. We definitely had dilutions
of the concepts and several misconceptions. Though I have talked about the
individualistic nature of three gunas, I want my readers to recognize the fact
that we do have proverbs like "குலத்தளவே ஆகுமாம் குணம்" (The general
disposition of a person reflects his caste/breed) and we are not all that pure
as we wish to believe!!!
I do not agree fully with
the "glory of India" mail (which made several rounds in the past and
mentioned by a couple of you) that claims that India did not invade any other
country!! Rajendra Chola invaded far east countries and established several Shiva
temples. Cholas invading Pandiyas and Pandiyas killing Cheras etc. were there
always. There are evidences of these wars and killings in literature,
excavations, stone inscriptions etc. Let us not glorify ourselves too much!!!
So, what is my
intention behind the article? What do I want? I want us to think about ways to
make this country a better place to live. If countries that are covered with
snow most part of the year or that do not see even one centimetre rainfall in a
year could do better in providing safe shelter, food and better quality of life
to the citizens, how can a country that enjoys sun all through the year, decent
rainfall, and has 110 billion people (of supposedly intelligent race) not have
any of these?
My question is not
to some unknown "they"! It is to you and me!! What are you going to
do as an individual? I am not interested in justifications and excuses. You do
not even have to feel patriotic! (BTW, patriotism is not same as supporting Indian cricket team!!) This country has invested in you by giving you
the food, water, shelter and education. What are you going to return? Indian
government spends a lot on giving you safety - think of Army, Air force, Navy,
Border Security Forces, Police and all the scientist community working in ISRO,
DRDO and the like. Though per student spend may be less than that of other
countries, there is considerable amount of money spent on your education by the
government. It is just that we recognize only the fees we pay. How are you
going to repay this debt? Just paying tax is not enough!
OK, you do not want to treat it as a business deal and you think, as
son/daughter of this country, you are entitled to get these from the country.
You may argue that water only goes from the lake to the paddy field and not
vice versa. Even going with that argument, you are the lake for the next
generation - your own sons and daughters!! What are you giving them? Hmm, ok, you do not have to think about next
generation too! Don’t you want to live in a better place? Won't you clean the
house you live in or you own (if you are not living in this country)? You may argue, one person's contribution alone will not change the large nation! சிறு துளி பெருவெள்ளம்!!! Little drops of water make the mighty ocean!!!
What is your action
plan? With due respect to all the CSR activities where one spends a couple of
days in a year at a school or a hospital or an orphanage, I am challenging you
- is that sufficient? In the relay race of life, if you think that India was put
in a disadvantageous position by all the invasions, don’t you also agree that
we need to cover more distance in the same time to make it to the winning
post? And aren't we, the current
generation Indians, the ones to run faster with the baton to make this country
win?
We don’t have to be
better than other countries - we just have to be a great country to be in. What
are YOU going to do to make it happen?