India - An Aspiring Young Republic

Today, India celebrates 69th year of its declaration as a Republic. For individuals, it’s entering the super prime of their life; however, for a nation it’s a celebration of its past and chartering navigation for a promising future. This day 69 years ago, this nation adopted its Constitution and chose to be governed as a parliamentary democracy. 

It was a remarkable day ending the dominion status offered by the British regime, with the Indian Constituent Assembly adopting our very own Constitution for the first time. This day aptly went down in history as the day of ‘Purna Swaraj.’ In democracies worldwide, a nation chooses its leader with clear aspirations. In the historic timeline of any nation, the performance of elected leaders is registered not by mere words they speak while in the highest office, but by the quantifiable impact of the decisions they make. 

The history of India is dotted with many elected national leaders who have lost the sole purpose of their election and aspirations of the electorate. Many leaders assumed power to merely retain it for few more terms. The progress which India made in all these decades is despite the callousness by successive rulers. 

I strongly believe as a voter who chose Narendra Modi as a Prime Minister that he clearly understands the aspirations of those who chose him and also those who didn't. He vividly understands what the people of India want from him and also what they really need. He is at it from day one after taking up the top job, to ensure that he leads the nation in the direction which meets the needs of millions of poor and needy. 

If one has to take an honest shot at analysing the state of affairs in India, especially in the 60 years of Congress rule and not just flow with the projected image, through the prism of false nationalism, India truly is a broken nation. It’s a nation of multiple and  strange paradoxes. It’s broken 'by design' with over six decades of misgovernance culturally, religiously, economically, socially, administratively, psychologically, ethically and morally at every level.  

To start with, what do you call a nation which cannot define its core values? What do you call a nation which is synonymous with ad hocism in every aspect of its everyday life? A nation, where corruption is all pervasive, with no exception. A nation, where more than 75% of the population doesn't have basic standards of healthy life, but it’s the fastest growing economic power. 

A nation, where the rich and poor divide is the highest on this planet. A nation, where literacy and basic education are luxuries for the middle class. A nation, where every state, city, district and village are divided not just along religious lines, but also along thousands of castes and sub-castes. A nation, where an average of eight thousand farmers suicide annually with crop failure and debt-burden. A nation, where thousands of infants die with lack of nutrition.

A nation, where there is still no basic sense of traffic, hygiene or consideration for fellow human being's rights, from villages to mega cities. A nation, where hundreds die every day on roads for lack of safety standards, engineering and enforcement. A nation, which doesn't still provide all its citizens safe drinking water, affordable public transport, public schooling, public health, public safety, public justice, public hygiene to all its citizens. 

A nation, where honest, ethical, accountable, law-abiding citizens can't grow with equal opportunity. A nation, which actively promotes mediocrity and not excellence. A nation where lies, dishonesty, manipulation, illegality and lack of integrity are openly rewarded. I am not sure what anyone would call a nation like this after 70 years of its independence; I call it a broken nation. Every Indian knows it. We also know who's responsible for this state of affairs in this nation. However, we all pretend – 'all is well.' 

There are thousand more questions and answers which can establish my conclusion. However, the above few are good enough to know that India today is in a deep mess. Not many are rattled with the present situation. There exists almost a hypnotic social conditioning to live in a state of denial and get along with self-defeatist feeling of “This is how India is” & “This is how it will be.” In fact, this formula is even formally promoted across the nation. 'All is well.' 

India has been pushed into an abyss and a vicious cycle of corruption, duplicity, false nationalism and hypocrisy which feeds itself to eternity, with no one to break it. It has reached a pinnacle, where, if anyone were to highlight this systemic malice or try changing this decade’s long deterioration, they will be attacked as the one who is dismantling and unsettling 'a great functional system.’ They can even be termed 'fringe.' 

The status quo mindset and the comfort zone of every class of population from top to bottom has come to terms with the prevailing situation and this nation keeps moving with a shocking normalcy, accepting and validating everything around as ‘quite normal.’ The socio-psychological hypnosis and conditioning has been at work for decades. Indians for no fault of their own have become used to this broken system and seem to feel that “the known devil is better than the unknown.”

Most not having even a dream of a better nation in their entire life time. Disempowered population can't have too much of self-efficacy to protect their identity and no wonder there's nothing left to call 'Indian' in India already. That's how broken is India's cultural and national identity. This mega context requires mega reforms to correct the colossal damage to India in the last 70 years. It had to start somehow and somewhere.

PM Narendra Modi took upon himself to initiate this “mega reform and course correction” process. Fortunately, for the first time in Indian history, most of the common people have supported this massive initiative. Reform – Perform – Transform is the agenda of the BJP government for the last 3 years and the work is in progress. However, there are many who set up huge obstacles for this transformation for selfish outcomes. These are the ones who directly benefit from the broken system. 

Those who managed to stay in power for decades abusing the system, and those who have loved the status quo. They are all rattled to the core. Those who are in trouble have unleashed a war against PM Modi and are coming at him, his government and his party with everything they have got. 

It does not come as a great surprise, as their sheer survival is at stake for the first time in Indian history. They are also shocked at common people's support to the disruptive reforms initiated by PM Modi, to break the vicious cycle of corruption and transform India for good. 

At last in the history of independent India, a democratically elected national leader is doing his job to fix this broken nation. In the journey of a thousand miles, this is the first step.