State of my Country???

"India is my country.... All Indians are my brothers and sisters... I love my country and I am proud of its rich and varied heritage... I shall strive to be worthy of it............."

I am not really sure how many Indians remember these lines... To be honest, I had to rack my brains to quote these lines. I thought of googling for India+pledge, but that would defeat the whole purpose of this post...

I have had many arguments with my friends, my family regarding the service that one requires to do for one's own country. I have always believed and still believe that the best gift an Indian can give India is himself/herself. My friend keeps on saying, "NRI Investments are the backbone of the Indian economy"... I have always felt that this is not a statement that the NRIs should be proud of, but this is one line on which the whole country should be ashamed of. India should be served by Indians... Indians who are in India..

Ofcourse, there are a multitude of factors which hinders the return of Indians to India. It is easy to state the measures to be taken to make India better by carrying India away from wherever she is now. As many revolutionaries have suggested, many movies have had as their punch line, it is a pathetic, yet true state of affairs that we Indians have learnt to adjust with our surroundings and live with whatever we get. Why pathetic? Because we are not in harmony with the good... We are all accomplices to whatever is happening out here.

I am definitely not here to moan about the wrongs in my country. I am just a simple soul who wants to make sure everything is alright. I do agree that I don't have a dozen plans up my sleeve and I am definitely not here to begin a political party or to join hands with a student organization to help my nation. I just want to be me and still be Mother India's loved child... Mother India should love me just like how my mother loves me. I definitely need not be a great revolutionary or a scientist or a leader or anything else. If I be good to my mother, she will love me more. That is exactly what is expected out of every Indian...

We have all had it in us to live a life of greatness. We all have it in us, it is just that it is lost among all other thoughts and feelings. One can easily say that a day will come when we will regain our glory. Just like all these politicians. But mere reciting these lines is never going to help. It is the people who need to change. Change towards the good. Upgrade themselves...

What irked me the most during the recent times, is the elections in Tamil Nadu. Or rather, the election campaigning. Just because one bloke is cribbing about the other's inefficiency, it doesnt make him efficient. The frustration crept up slowly as television channels began to side with the political parties. Of course.. won't they?? They start to show how their governing the state can bring all the harmony in the world... And start to crib endlessly about the other... The last straw came when I happened to see the election campaign by the parties. That is when I realized that more than the politicians, it is the people who need to change. There was such a huge crowd in the campaigning areas... I am definitely not sure why these lazy idiots are here in the first place... Atleast 30% of them are college students, who have their own books to study... Many many householders - men and women alike - setting aside all the household work they need to complete... To top it all, the election party was supplying free lunch and water for all the people who had attended the campaign meeting.... and, what was conveyed to them in the meeting??? "Vote for us... She is a killer... We are the best..." What good is all this?? What are the people doing??

I am definitely sure that beneath all these barren patches, there is greenery... but hold on.. there is just a small living plant... It is only us who can water it and let it grow into a big tree and make other trees come up...

We need to be a good citizen of our country..

It is never too late to act....

Jai Hind.