Staying abroad for a year, I miss my country very much. I miss everything of India, the hot summers, the monsoon, the festivals, the food, the people, the roads, the traffic .. oh this is an infinite list.. above all I miss the Indian soil..(is it just a figure of speech.. nah.. I really cant smell the aroma of soil after the first rains here..). And when ever someone asks about my country, I proudly say that I am an Indian, and with that I start boasting about my country, all her virtues, her culture, her people , everything. But then when I read of accidents, any terrorist or naxal attack , any scams, or simply the everyday tales of red-tap ism and bureaucracy happening all over India , I feel sad for my country.
This 15 Aug, India celebrates its 62nd Independence Day. But are we independent in true sense? Where are we on the world map after 62 years of independence? Here I am citing some facts and figures.
The Human developing Index prepared by our very own economists Amartya Sen says India stands 134 in the list of Medium Developing countries beaten by all the Latin American countries, some of the African Countries, and of course our neighbors China , Srilanka(here I am not considering the continents of Europe, North America and Australia ) . And despite being the fourth largest economy of the world, India stands 57th in the race for countries below poverty line,with 42% of our population below the poverty line. In US, the farmers are equipped with the latest technology for agriculture, the are educated and very well-off. Our farmers either die or suicide because of debts, natural calamities.
We stand at 149 position with just 66% literacy rate, being the 2nd highest populated country of the world. Congratulations to us we will be surpassing China by 2025.
India's bureaucracy is the worst in Asia and we have a fourth of our parliament members who have criminal charges. One can find corruption every where from commonwealth games to every walks of day to day life.
Its not safe for a girl to walk on the roads of the Capital of the country at night. Neither is it safe to travel on rails for fear of a sabotage or merely a wrong signal. There's adulteration in grains , cereals, oil, medicines and everything. There's politics on nothing and everything. We are represented by mostly octogenarians and nonagenarians in the parliament. The judiciary takes decades to execute a criminal in-spite of all the evidences. The rapists and murders remain at large and finally join politics.
So here we are ..many feathers to our cap. But who is to be blamed, politicians, bureaucrats, civil servants or is it just us. Yes, its our country and we are responsible for it. But what do we do? I really don't know. Change the government, bring a reform .. but how? Whom should I elect.. they are all the same... and I keep pondering on this..I do not dream for a Utopian society but I do dream for a better India, greener safer beautiful India. The India of my Dreams......
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