Republic Day

Another year draws to a start. Another year past in which India achieved its independence. Another Republic Day parade grows near.

Tomorrow - 26th January, is India's republic day.

When I was young, the republic day parade was something we enjoyed watching on Doordarshan. As kids it was especially nice as it is also a National Holiday. As kids we don't think too much and enjoy everything. The jets flying overhead, the tanks rumbling down the rajpath , the different Jhankis.

But over the year I have started to feel sad. 59 years now since India got independence. And what have we achieved as an independent nation ? 59 years would have been enough to make India into a developed country - but we are still in the 'developing' countries category. Why has our independence failed to make us rise above the other countries.

There is no doubt in people's mind that India has great talent. And not just talent but also great culture. We gave the world the concept of 0 or shounya. We gave the world a few religions - hinduism, buddhism, jainism, sikkhism. We gave the world the oldest civilization of Harrapa. We gave the world one of the 7 wonders of the world - the Taj Mahal. We have the most diverse biological habitats in the world. We are the only country to have an ocean named after us - the Indian Ocean. Our brain talent is very much appreciated in the developed countries and has lead to a new model of business - offshoring. We gave the world the thrill of coming face to face with the Tigers. We caused an entire continent of the Americas to be discovered.

And yet - we are failing.

I have been riding through India through the last few years. And everywhere I see the same. People are still living as they were around the time of independence. People have become richer in bits and pieces but not wholely. Many places have actually deteriorated. Most of the roads in the country have not been repaired for decades - just go through MP and you will experience it for itself. And its not just the country side - even upcoming cities have very bad roads. Check out Pune and Bangalore roads. An effort to make the roads was started by the erstwhile PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee - but when his goverment lost the elections - the new government - the congress seems to have just let it lie.

Opposition in this country is about opposing whatever the current government does , not about being opposing to wrong practicies - but to just oppose for opposing sake.

The only time roads seem to be getting made in this country is when some big politicians in power have to go somewhere. Take the case of the roads in hyderabad. Most of the roads here have been repaired just because there was to be an All India Congress meet. Tax-payers money gone in putting up the hoardings showing the Gandhi family in 50 foot tall cutouts.

Democracy in this country is a Monarchy - especially when it comes to the Congress. First came Nehru, then Indira Gandhi, followed by Rajeev Gandhi and now the congress people are harping for Rahul Gandhi. I thought democracy was put into place to stop the rule of families - but it is not so in India. If you are the scion of a political family, you have better chances of coming into power - and once you are in power of course you do not need to do anything. Case in point Lalu Prasad Yadav - who ruled in Bihar for 20 years and made it one of the worst states in the country.

Why have a democracy ? have a monarchy. At least if the ruler is good, he gets a lifetime to make things better unlike the 5 years in a democracy.

Another fact missing in the indian society is art. I don't call M F Hussain's work as art. I call the Taj mahal as art. I call Ajanta and Ellora as art. I call the Rashtrapati Bhavan as art. Travel around the country and you will realize something over time that all these artistic buildings, the great architecture have been made before independence. The only architecturally beautiful building I have seen after independence is the Ashwardham Temple. Everything else is just a few boxes stacked so that the builder makes the most amount of money. I am living on rent for the last few years as I travel through the cities I work in, and everywhere I find houses which should not even be fit to be called houses. But we still live there. No, most of us don't even live. We just exist.

In place of such a democracy I think we should have a Monarchy. Look back at history, and its the Monarchs who have done anything noteworthy. Be it Ashoka , or Chandragupta . It takes a person - a single person - not a coalation - to take the comuntry forwards. To take it towards greatness.

I keep seeing small signs of greatness in this country. They are like sparks. They need to become a flame. We need a person who can blow wind into the sparks to make them flames.
On this Republic Day, i pray to god to give us such a person. A person who can make changes happen. Who wants to see the Country become greater than making his or her bank account greater.