Mute Spectator : Lost Opportunity
January 06, 2020
Last year, Global Hunger Index
was released by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
We were ranked at 102nd among 119 competitors & are placed lower than
Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
So what’s wrong with us?
People are the bedrock of a progressive & aspirational nation.
Thousands & thousands were parading on the roads singing patriotical songs,
shouting nationalistic slogans, waving flags, hugging each other, highly
energized with a fervour in their heart occupied by so much love for their
nation. Although divided by caste & communities people tried to be united.
Every soul (except some) stayed dedicated for a free nation.
This was the scene all over India on Aug 08, 1942 (clarion call for QUIT INDIA
MOVEMENT).
Why does this matter now?
Yes, because our great leaders streamlined us. Nation stood first. Self-governance
stood first. Respect & national pride stood first. It wasn't that easy to
bring together people of various ethnicity, linguistics, culture, tradition
& value system. The attempt to create an egalitarian society wasn't
corroded nor vitiated by artificial feeling to bring about this change. This
urge was created through TRUTH, LOVE, HONESTY & BRAVERY as a modus operandi.
People weren't well off then. The nation suffered from severe poverty, worse
economic condition, famine, malnutrition, infant mortality, diseases of all
kinds all around, casteism, communalism, separatism & thousands of death on
a daily basis. They lived a second class citizen in their Motherland.
But still what made the freedom movement a happening one?
ASPIRATIONS & HOPE.
The dream of every individual to live in freedom, to live with self-respect
hoping that life will be much better with dignity & nationhood under the
garb of self-governance. They believed in their next generation leaders. They
believed in a Democratic, Secular, liberal nation of equality & equity.
They believed that we can stand tall in the emerging world order.
But, what happened in this 72 years??
Every moral that the nation stood upon were put into a deep well. People were
no longer of importance for their own people who ruled. Governance became money
centric, corruption eroded the entire system. Selfish goons became local leaders.
Caste & Communities became vote banks. Elections became all about populism.
Bureaucracy became f**ked up. State parties & National parties followed
dynastic politics. Nepotism was deep rooted.
Lust, envy and the lure of
wealth (in the hands of politicians) was what everything was about. Kitchen
cooked Communal riots, seasonal bombings, ghettoisation, ethnic genocide,
regionalism and religionalism wreaked havoc in the society. Arrogance and
hatred mainstreamed. Perpetual ideological fixation took over the regime. The
freedom of the people slowly and firmly evolved into the freedom of the nasty
politicians. Centralisation struck the basic thesis of the nation and free
market capitalism was looked upon as an egregious evil thoughts. Much to the
delight, Scams after scams evolved, public money was pocketed, tax evasion was
a normalcy, loot and plunder was the government policy, etc.,...
What it could have been??
On the eve of Independence,
Mahatma Gandhi chose to remain in Calcutta healing hearts and bringing harmony
and peace between the Hindu and Muslim communities of Bengal. One of several
meetings Gandhiji had on 15 August at his temporary home in Beliaghata
(kolkata) was with the ministers of the newly installed government of West
Bengal. When the ministers sought his blessing, Gandhiji told them,
TODAY, YOU HAVE WORN ON YOUR HEADS A CROWN OF
THORNS. THE SEAT OF POWER IS A NASTY THING. YOU HAVE TO REMAIN EVER WAKEFUL ON
THAT SEAT. YOU HAVE TO BE MORE TRUTHFUL, MORE NON - VIOLENT, MORE HUMBLE AND
MORE FORBEARING. YOU HAD BEEN PUT TO TEST DURING BRITISH REGIME. BUT IN A WAY
IT WAS NO TEST AT ALL. BUT NOW THERE WILL BE NO END TO YOUR BEING TESTED. DO
NOT FALL A PREY TO THE LURE OF WEALTH. MAY GOD HELP YOU! YOU ARE THERE TO SERVE
THE VILLAGES AND THE POOR.
If the mood of the people was
well kept and maintained through all these years still with the vehemence of
collective growth in the larger interest of the nation which is one way of
governing people solidly could have been a dramatic change in the way we would
have progressed.
To think that we still couldn't
feed every individual of this nation 3 square meal a day is obnoxious and a
disgrace. I Quote here my favourite line from Shashi
Tharoor where he exclaims, "the uniqueness among large democracies is that
they are very well aware that neither man nor women, nor country nor state,
will live well or long unless some attention is given to the baking of bread,
the boiling of rice, the rolling of chapathi. Democracy and human rights are fundamental
to who we are; but human rights begin with breakfast".
By facts, we are big producers
of rice, wheat, Dairy products, sugarcane and much more. To make profits out of
public rice and other commodities by some scum and to lobby for heavy prices in
other markets is still prevalent in our public distribution system. Most of our
children under the age of 5 are undernourished. If any nation wants to grow on
10% year on year (which we talk about a lot), then the biggest investment they
have to do is in their children HEALTH & EDUCATION. After all KNOWLEDGE
& HEALTH IS DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL TO ECONOMIC GROWTH. Making our people our own laughing stock is
the biggest dishonesty that we have done. If those in the clutches of power
stood there MORAL GROUND and had been righteous then we would have definitely
punched above our weight.
It is that LOST OPPORTUNITY
that we could have taken our people along in the process of making this nation
GREAT. On a comparative, China which is an authoritarian communist state,
during the 1980’s under Premier Deng Xiaoping streamlined his people towards a
common goal, pulled up deep rooted corruption which turned them into an
economic powerhouse today. But, Corruption is still omnipresent in our land. FREEDOM & DEMOCRACY was the best thing
that could have happened to INDIA & taking them for granted is the dumbest
thing that we have done.
3 SQUARE MEAL A DAY IS NOT A
DISTANT DREAM.
JAI HIND.
By Sathish T K
Mute Spectator is the primary series of the blog where we express our
opinions on current affairs.
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