I always had been thinking that India's great! But, my son opened my eyes wide...!
How? Please read on...!
Rajiv Gandhi, the late prime minister of India had first introduced this thought, "मेरा भारत महान" (My India's Great), to make citizens of India start feeling proud about India and being Indian!
On recent independence day, 15th of Aug, last month, I also was feeling inspired to pass this thought on to my kids...!
So following is the conversation with my son, on 15th Aug, 2014!
"Son, our India's really very great!", I started the conversation with my son!
"How, Dad?", he asked, innocently!
Oops, I had never expected this...! I was caught by surprise! I had thought, I'll say and he'll agree...!
But, I had forgotten that he's my son, very much like me...; he won't agree to anything just because somebody in authority or whom he respects, says it...! He won't accept anything without any reasoning or the rationale behind it!
"Because, we have been and are one of the most powerful nations!", I fumbled, trying to make up with the situation!
"Then, Papa, why everybody ruled us?
Everybody in the world, including but not limited to the barbarian gangs, had ruled us...!
As such, bluntly stated, everybody, who bothered to rule India, could...!"
"Hmmm..., but look, we've got a great religion, in the world!"
"Which religion?
"The one, which divides the people in Castes?
"The one, which dictates that some group of people are superior to others, just because they've born in different caste?
"Which compels some group of people to do all the dirty work for others, just because they've born in different caste?"
"But look at our culture!"
"Which Culture, are you talking about..., Dad?
"We say, "अतिथि देवो भव" (Guests are like Gods), but we cheat, we rob, we rape our guests, who visit India, listening to the false stories of our so-called culture...!
"Are we talking about our culture of our women (apart from men) going in open space, instead of non-existing toilets?
"Are we talking about Spitting in public with no regrets?
"Are we talking about aggressive and senseless driving from wrong side without feeling ashamed?
"Are we talking about killing female-fetus, or are we talking about 4-brothers marrying to the same woman, who had been bought from some different state; as in their state they had killed maximum female-fetuses...?
"Are we talking about Corruption being the way of our life?"
"Son, actually, the corruption is the recent happening, we haven't been corrupt, all the times...!"
"Really, Dad? Are you sure?
"Have you forgotten the history that since the time we know, we had to pay the bribe to the Doorkeepers of the Kings, in money or kind, to get entry to the King's office? Nobody, including kings had ever bothered this...!"
"But son, look at the inventions we've made!"
"Which inventions, Dad?
"Everything that I see around had been invented in the West...! Leave alone inventing, we, even can't use that well, what already had been invented...!
"Did we invent Aeroplane? A Computer? Ok, Phone? A car? Ship? Gun? Train?
"Dad, we haven't even invented the Pen!"
"But look at the business, we do!"
"Which business? The one that's based completely on unethical ways, since beginning, and still?
"The one of mixing stones in the wheat?
"The one of finding smaller suppliers and NOT paying them outstanding unless they supply next batch? This is how using suppliers money? Forfeiting their money, if they don't supply, any further?
"The one of burning your own factories with dummy goods and claiming the insurance?
"The one of taking loans from smaller banks and recommending to shut those banks?
"The one of robbing your customers, vendors, Government and everybody else?"
"But we are One-India among all the diversities!", I tried to play my last card!
"Are we?
"We are either Hindu (Anyways, I still need to see any Hindu, because who I see are either Brahmans, Kshatriya or so on..., I haven't seen a Hindu for long..., but let it be a separate topic. And still, I'm not considering Sikh, Jain and so on...!), Muslim or Christian...
"We are either Punjabi, Gujarati, Marwadi or Tamili...
"We are either Rich or Poor or the 'Middle-Class'!
"Lokmanya Tilak had started Ganesha-Festival to unite all Hindu-Indians against British-rule, but we are using it to divide people into multiple groups, by celebrating 3 different Ganesh-Festivals on the same street or the same society...!
"Leave it alone, Dad, let's not talk about it...! If people on one street or one society can't come together..., Dad, just keep dreaming of One-India!"
He concluded..., "Dad, India's NOT great, it never had been...! But Acceptance is the First step towards improvement...!
"If we keep saying, blindly, that 'My India's Great', we never are going to be great...!
"Let's accept, we are NOT..., but we will be, one day..., by our efforts and hard-work!"
I was completely stunned by this eye-opener by my own Son...!
How? Please read on...!
Rajiv Gandhi, the late prime minister of India had first introduced this thought, "मेरा भारत महान" (My India's Great), to make citizens of India start feeling proud about India and being Indian!
On recent independence day, 15th of Aug, last month, I also was feeling inspired to pass this thought on to my kids...!
So following is the conversation with my son, on 15th Aug, 2014!
"Son, our India's really very great!", I started the conversation with my son!
"How, Dad?", he asked, innocently!
Oops, I had never expected this...! I was caught by surprise! I had thought, I'll say and he'll agree...!
But, I had forgotten that he's my son, very much like me...; he won't agree to anything just because somebody in authority or whom he respects, says it...! He won't accept anything without any reasoning or the rationale behind it!
"Because, we have been and are one of the most powerful nations!", I fumbled, trying to make up with the situation!
"Then, Papa, why everybody ruled us?
Everybody in the world, including but not limited to the barbarian gangs, had ruled us...!
As such, bluntly stated, everybody, who bothered to rule India, could...!"
"Hmmm..., but look, we've got a great religion, in the world!"
"Which religion?
"The one, which divides the people in Castes?
"The one, which dictates that some group of people are superior to others, just because they've born in different caste?
"Which compels some group of people to do all the dirty work for others, just because they've born in different caste?"
"But look at our culture!"
"Which Culture, are you talking about..., Dad?
"We say, "अतिथि देवो भव" (Guests are like Gods), but we cheat, we rob, we rape our guests, who visit India, listening to the false stories of our so-called culture...!
"Are we talking about our culture of our women (apart from men) going in open space, instead of non-existing toilets?
"Are we talking about Spitting in public with no regrets?
"Are we talking about aggressive and senseless driving from wrong side without feeling ashamed?
"Are we talking about killing female-fetus, or are we talking about 4-brothers marrying to the same woman, who had been bought from some different state; as in their state they had killed maximum female-fetuses...?
"Are we talking about Corruption being the way of our life?"
"Son, actually, the corruption is the recent happening, we haven't been corrupt, all the times...!"
"Really, Dad? Are you sure?
"Have you forgotten the history that since the time we know, we had to pay the bribe to the Doorkeepers of the Kings, in money or kind, to get entry to the King's office? Nobody, including kings had ever bothered this...!"
"But son, look at the inventions we've made!"
"Which inventions, Dad?
"Everything that I see around had been invented in the West...! Leave alone inventing, we, even can't use that well, what already had been invented...!
"Did we invent Aeroplane? A Computer? Ok, Phone? A car? Ship? Gun? Train?
"Dad, we haven't even invented the Pen!"
"But look at the business, we do!"
"Which business? The one that's based completely on unethical ways, since beginning, and still?
"The one of mixing stones in the wheat?
"The one of finding smaller suppliers and NOT paying them outstanding unless they supply next batch? This is how using suppliers money? Forfeiting their money, if they don't supply, any further?
"The one of burning your own factories with dummy goods and claiming the insurance?
"The one of taking loans from smaller banks and recommending to shut those banks?
"The one of robbing your customers, vendors, Government and everybody else?"
"But we are One-India among all the diversities!", I tried to play my last card!
"Are we?
"We are either Hindu (Anyways, I still need to see any Hindu, because who I see are either Brahmans, Kshatriya or so on..., I haven't seen a Hindu for long..., but let it be a separate topic. And still, I'm not considering Sikh, Jain and so on...!), Muslim or Christian...
"We are either Punjabi, Gujarati, Marwadi or Tamili...
"We are either Rich or Poor or the 'Middle-Class'!
"Lokmanya Tilak had started Ganesha-Festival to unite all Hindu-Indians against British-rule, but we are using it to divide people into multiple groups, by celebrating 3 different Ganesh-Festivals on the same street or the same society...!
"Leave it alone, Dad, let's not talk about it...! If people on one street or one society can't come together..., Dad, just keep dreaming of One-India!"
He concluded..., "Dad, India's NOT great, it never had been...! But Acceptance is the First step towards improvement...!
"If we keep saying, blindly, that 'My India's Great', we never are going to be great...!
"Let's accept, we are NOT..., but we will be, one day..., by our efforts and hard-work!"
I was completely stunned by this eye-opener by my own Son...!
No comments:
Post a Comment