Glorious India

The GREAT Indian Independence Sham!
MONDAY, 12 AUGUST 2013 16:45 NISHA SAMSON
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We are a free country. Or so we say on papers, at least. But there's still so much that ails this country. What's even worse is that we're aware of the issues but there's no action. It's time to ask when!
Year: 1947
After a bloody struggle for independence and a bloodier partition, India got what she wanted the most – independence.
Year: 2013
Sixty six years after independence, India wears a veil that reeks of an ever-burgeoning population, ever-increasing rates of inflation coupled with an inflated amount of dissatisfaction. Do we have a right to our woes? Of course, we do. And, while New Delhi makes a show of rising the Indian flag and flaunting warfare, you and I have pressing questions and none of the answers are forthcoming. All we get are promises that are as flimsy as a gentle breeze that kisses the Indian flag flying ever so proudly from its post of honour.
Corruption
According to the 2012 survey conducted by Transparency International, India ranks 94th on the corruption index. Simply put, we're far, far away from being a corruption-free country. In fact, corruption-free India is a distant dream. India brought in the new millennium with two scams; but, that number has been an ever-increasing one since then. We bid 2012 adieu with 42 scams and 2013 has clocked four so far. However, scams are just one part of the corruption problem at large. The average Indian citizen faces the prospect of corruption along every step of the way. Bribe to get your child into school, bribe corrupt officials to get paperwork done, bribe for this, that and the other. Bribe - a word that's foolishly passed off as buttering someone's hand. And this is just the tip of the iceberg! If government policies allow corruption to prosper, are we truly a free India?
The question we ask: When will we have a corruption-free India? When?
Starvation
Recently Rahul Gandhi, the Vice President of the Congress party said, "Poverty is a state of mind". A state of mind? With nearly ¼ of India's population going hungry, is this a state of mind? According to estimates by the United Nations, hunger now affects one in six people. How many of those are in India? How many people die of starvation because of inflated food rates? How many Indian children sleep on an empty stomach while grains rot in godowns? Is anyone doing anything about it? What are we doing with the knowledge we have? Will everything just remain a statistic? An ever-increasing statistic? We're a nation that still has 360 million people living below the poverty line. Yes, there are lot of government-run food programs, but all that's on paper. Some start and shut down, some never even get off the ground! The International Food Policy Research Institute concluded that Bihar, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh are India's hungriest states. India boasts of being a food-surplus nation, but a 2011 report by the International Food Policy Research Institute ranked India at number 67 out of 81 on the hunger index. Children dies of malnutrition, adults die of hunger, infant mortality rate is at its highest, and still, no one's asking why, how, when... no one.
The question we ask: When is India going to wake up to the fact that starvation is a malice we just cannot ignore? When?
Communalism
Bloodshed, mass murder and wrath that scars the human spirit – all in the name of religion! Religion, an idea that's supposed to unite and bind, somehow manages to cause divides so large and problems so grave that a whole country questions its conscience. India has been grappling with this issue from as far back as 1809 with the Hindu-Muslim Lat Bhairo riots! We're not going to give you a chronological list of gory riots that rip this country apart over and over again, neither are we going to get into the why, how and finger-pointing. What we will get into, though, is how, how can we do this to one another even now? How can we do this to ourselves? What sort of an example are we setting for generations to come? What kind of future will we give them if we leave them no country to have a future in?
The question we ask: When are we going to realise that communalism is often propagated by third parties who sit back and watch this country tear itself apart? When?
Female Foeticide and Infanticide
Where are India's daughters? Why don't we hear their cry when they're born? Well, this is because India's daughters are not given a chance at life! India's daughters are killed before they're born. And the ones that are born are silenced forever before they're even allowed their first cry! India's daughters are India's daughters no more. Female foeticide and infanticide is a social issue that has been ailing this country for time immortal. Is anyone listening? Not really. The government has passed a number of laws; however, laws are just window-dressing! According to a government survey, the sex ratio this year stands at 940 females for every 1000 males; the same statistic as last year. Is there a cause for celebration? It's bittersweet because while the statistic is far from great, we can draw hope that it hasn't worsened. But fact remains, we're still killing our daughters, we're still turning a blind eye to so many things, we're still craving a male child. Sadly and shockingly, this is an issue that has spread its tentacles across social class. This is an issue that needs to be addressed with a change in our thoughts – your thoughts, my thoughts, everyone's thoughts. It's time to let India's daughters live!
The question we ask: When will we let India's girls live? When?
Illiteracy
The progress of a country depends on what we know, how much we know and how far we're willing to push ourselves to think! India's population stands at 1.27 billion this year. Considering that we're one of the youngest countries in the world right now, with more than 50% of India's current population under the age of 25, and 65% under the age of 35, how many of that 50% are literate? How many of them are children forced to stay out of school to earn a living? How many children learn only too quickly thateducation is a distant dream? How many learn that some of them are not even allowed those dreams? According to a survey conducted by the Indian government, about 72% of the population lives in villages, while 27.8% live in towns and cities. Different states have different education programmes in a bid to further literacy. However, one look at neglected buildings often called schools and you realise that while the government may do everything right on paper, implementation is a major failure. The children in towns and cities are a little better off with easier access to schools, however, how many actually make it there? Whom do we question - parents who'd rather send their children to work, the government who makes education so difficult and sometimes impossible, teachers who make the schooling experience appalling, or the system at large? It's time to allow India's children the freedom to think on their own, the freedom to choose what they want to pursue, the freedom to know that school is not a dream anymore.
The question we ask: When will we realise that education is a child's right? When?
Lack of Law and Order
This is the land of lawlessness – walk down a street and be wary of someone cutting a signal, drive and be wary of someone switching lanes without as much as a signal, run over someone and if you're well-connected, you will get off scot-free, women are groped on a daily basis – everyone's watching and no one's doing a thing – law and order – a term that's so alien in India, it's almost scary... almost. A country's progress and happiness index depends completely on satisfied citizens. How many of us are truly satisfied? How many of us brace ourselves for a war every time we leave our home? How many of us wonder when, when we law be followed?
The question we ask: When will laws be followed? When?
It's now up to you, dear men, it's you we look towards to revolutionise India. You've been forbearers of a time gone by and now it's time for India to lean on you to take us forward. Our freedom fighters fought for India's independence from foreign invaders. Now, we as Indians have to fight for India's independence from the oppressors within our own country!
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