AA Edit | A proud nation, but a troubled society at 76

As India enters its 77th year as an independent nation, finishing 76 years of Independence from British rule, it is time to look hard at the mirror — a mirror that is history, a mirror that is contemporary reality, a mirror that is the world stage. We will find on a good glance that we have a lot to admire and love in what we can see, and we will find we have a lot to be pained and concerned in what we can also see.

We have in 76 years emerged strongly, and today, we are strong as a nation. Our sovereignty and integrity, in the larger world order, is unimpeachable, and we are as capable of protecting our territorial integrity, our independence and our glory as a free nation from most foreseeable challenges. We may be housed in a troubled neighbourhood with two somewhat hostile neighbours, but we are strong and capable of remaining independent.

It has been our greatest collective achievement, through several wars and battles, and subterfuge and terror attacks inspired and sponsored from across the border, we have stood strong and tall, as a responsible but powerful nuclear power in the world, whose borders are largely inviolable.

We have risen as an economic power. In over seven decades, we may have had a terrible start but in the last three decades post liberalisation, we have grown and risen, we have achieved a great economic power, with large-scale capability in the primary and services sector, and improving capabilities in the manufacturing sector.

As the fifth largest economy in the world, as we move through the last quarter of the century of independence (Amrit kaal), we have scored the second greatest achievement in our economy, which can look up to achieving its ambitious target of becoming the top three soon. We have nearly eliminated extreme poverty, eradicated several deadly epidemics and diseases, built large-scale food security, and have done ourselves proud by providing for the most basic needs of most of our people.

We have produced people who have proven good enough to be the best in the world in a plethora of areas, from sciences and technology, sports to business, academics to research, arts to intellectual pursuits, among others. But there is a lot more to be achieved.

We have lost the ability to achieve excellence in a sustained manner, and most of our people, educated and trained, or not, tend to aim for and settle in the zone of mediocrity. We make too many laws, render them too complex but are always culturally tuned to take pride in violating it, in finding ways around it.

We are a strong nation and economy but a divided society. Our divisions have created more cracks and gaps than the unity achieved by what we have in common — and the age-old monsters, discrimination and oppression of our own people based on differences in religion and caste, still haunt us.

We need better governments; we need better politicians and bureaucracy, indeed a large-scale shift in the quality of people who are seated in power. We need more responsive and quicker, and more efficient, systems of police, judiciary. We need to match the improving hard infrastructure like power, roads, airports, and ports, with equally excellent soft infrastructure, which is largely our people and processes.

Above all, we need better citizens, those who have greater pride in ourselves and our nation, not the kind of toxic pride that would beat up someone for disagreeing with us, or being different, but the silent powerful kind, which will give each one of us the power to stand up for what is right, at all times.

Into that heaven of freedom... as the poet hoped, let our country awake.