One India?

Arunachal Pradesh is back in the news. The Indian government has claimed Chinese incursions. Jammu & Kashmir has been repeatedly bombed for over two decades. There is uneasy calm in the Punjab; we will never know when Khalistan will up its ante again. The North-East believes it is a separate zone and most feel anything but Indian in those parts of the country. The south of the country stands isolated from the North, led by huge language and cultural differences.

Yes, this is the reality of India, today's India. Looks like we are all bound together more by political compulsions than by choice. As a country we stand divided in thought by geography, religion, caste, culture, and a feeling that we are all partners in a coalition country that is sticking together for economic reasons than for the love of being one.

Every state blames other states and the Central government for its troubles. So who is to blame? Or should we fall back on our favorite enemy, the British. Blame the British for all our ills; we are saints and if not for the Brits we would still be living in a land of peace and prosperity.

I am sorry to be writing this but that is as far removed from the truth as one end of a black hole from the other. In fact, we have the British to thank for a country called India. If not for the British, we wouldn't have been a country. But I don't think most of us would want to buy that argument. That is our problem. We are jingoistic in our feelings toward India, but living in the country most of our thoughts are antinational.

We have politicians who thrive in dividing the country along religious and caste lines to retain power and fill their coffers. We have businessmen who indulge in all kinds of trickery to make their billions and are happy as long as their glass castles are not stoned. We have the Babus who think it is their birth right to rape the country, and watch in glee at the illegal children of corruption, greed, and sloth that they sire sucking the country dry.

And how can one forget about the aam aadmi, including me, who will watch all this is mute submission and dance to the tunes of the corrupt politician and religious zealots. Little do the people of the country realize the power that they hold. They unfortunatelty are bound by the rope of inaction, and so strong is that rope that the powers that be know they can get away with bloody murder.

These conditions set me thinking about the logic behind being a nation called India. Is there a rationale in being herded together like cattle by a few people whose motive is to profit from this mess called India?

It's fashionable to be Page 3 patriotic and loot the country under that garb. It's fashionable to blame Pakistan, Bangladesh and everyone else for our troubles but ourselves.

If we were united in thought and actions would any other country have been successful in creating chaos and leaving a trail of destruction here? I say no. But the sad part is we would prefer to be divided, align with enemies to bring down our own house, and shamelessly seek asylum in someone else's home and ideologies.

My question to all of us so called Indians is, is there any point in being bound together if we at heart do not feel one? I know that all those who benefit from the chaos called India will oppose my argument and call me antinational. I don't have a problem with that, because I know that a dog's tail cannot be straightened. The only way to keep the tail from curling is to amputate it.

For us Indians, I think it is time to decide. Do we want to amputate that portion of the body that thrives in profiting by dividing us? If yes, then it's time for collective action against the forces of antinationalism. If no, then it is better that we disband as a country and live in isolated glory, waiting for another Great Britain to come and rule us. Maybe we are not fit enough to self govern. May be we are only fit enough to be servants to foreign masters.

I know that people may call me an irrational fool and dismiss my arguments. My only request to all is just for a second think and then cross your heart and say that what I think if wrong. If you can do that, then I will know what ails India. It, dear friends, then would be nothing but the virus of selfpreservation at any cost. That would explain why we prefer to keep our homes clean, but show no sense of responsibility toward keeping our surroundings clean.

What we need to remember is our homes will only be safe if the country is safe. And the nation is certainly not going to be safe through selfpreservation. Hence, it's for all of us to decide whether we wish to live as one country or as colonies of slaves to alien masters.