Strong @ Sixty One

A great moment for India. My country. Our country. Number of years, as such, do not enhance or diminish the importance but an occasion arrives to celebrate and one just relishes getting mixed up in a lot of emotions associated with the day.


This August 15 was one such day when individuals, by default, have to take a backseat against thousand others who made this journey a worthwhile one. Great sacrifices, great efforts and amazing resilience by millions of people...there can be no substitute to the feeling of pride and belonging.


Right now, it's really a mixed feeling. There are thousand great things brightening up. There is something for everyone here to feel proud.


And then, sadly, there are also few things that we could do much much better.


The economy, of course. I am no expert on this, but the rising costs, sudden black out of certain essential commodities, the mad rush for petrol & diesel we faced recently, for example...these things clearly indicate a gaping hole in our system. The worst part is that other than making statements on issues, we haven't seen any real action from the empowered leaders. If we cannot assure certain basic things to our people, then what have we done with the 61 years of our lives as a country? This is an area of real concern. Has the exercise of choosing our own governments not ensured a steady movement towards a better system, however incremental whatsoever, over all these years?


The chain of events that have rolled out in the last one month where common man was targeted through a series of blasts speaks of the mess we are right now in.


Independence days are clearly marked as terror-targeted days. We see more check posts and restrictions on such days. Sadly, individuals with limited options and powers are trapped in these situations and cannot do much about these things other than thanking one's stars for reaching home safely every day.



Whenever a catastrophe strikes a city there are reports praising the resilience of 'the common man' who bounces back. Frankly, do we have a choice to do anything else?

Looking at the medal tally in the Olympics brings a lot of comparative revealations among the countries of the world. Much smaller and much younger countries are sweeping the stakes while we are struggling. We win one gold but then we understand that it was won despite our system.

The scarcity, the prices, threat to peace could all be taken care by an effective system put in place and nurtured by effective Governance.

Abhinav had to build his own practice range at home and had to go out of the country for his training. And at last, he earns his gold but there are stories - real or fictitious, they have done enough damage already - of attempt to sabotage his rifle. And then, we complain that he did not display enough pride and patriotism at the podium while receiving the medal.


Is it enough just to praise our past? Is it enough to just say we are the biggest democracy in the world? I have no idea what it takes. Like the Spidey says...with great powers come great responsibility. Let's hope that the people with power realise this.

At 61, there is no doubt that our country is strong... but we could have been even STRONGER.

I hope and pray that at 62 we get a bit more stronger.