We shall overcome someday!

Over the last few days, there have been endless discussions on the sad state of affairs in India. Some topics in the news were status of women, incidents of rape and unchecked corruption in the country.

How did our country come to this? What went wrong where?

A few words kept echoing in my mind.

India is my country and all Indians are my brothers and sisters.

I love my country and I am proud of its rich and varied heritage. I shall always strive to be worthy of it. I shall give my parents, teachers and all elders respect and treat everyone with courtesy.

To my country and my people, I pledge my devotion. In their well-being and prosperity alone, lies my happiness

Just like many others who grew up in India, throughout my schooling years, the recital of this pledge in the morning assembly was an essential part of my routine. I did not even realize when these words became a part of me.

I am not oblivious of the current problems in the country but I was born a proud Indian and continue being one.

In spite of centuries of impoverishment under foreign rule, the Indian republic today at 64, is standing tall and enamoring many with her charm. India, which is home to one billion plus people, is the cradle of civilization and culture, has the wisdom of the Vedas, and continues to baffle analysts on being a supreme example of unity in diversity amidst a world, which is splitting apart.

It is not just yoga, Indian food, Indian music, information technology prowess and the rising middle class, which is catching the attention of the world. India is still a sleeping giant, which holds the potential of wowing the world in innumerable ways.

Yes, India is fighting some demons. It is a land of contradictions. India is growing while somewhere Bharat is hungry, poor and neglected. India and Bharat are struggling to coexist.

Who can make the two reconcile? Who will ensure that the poor are fed, everyone gets educated and everyone lives a happy, healthy life in India?

It is me, it is you, it is each one of us who calls ourselves Indian irrespective of where we may live.

This is a momentous phase in India’s history, where we as Indians have realized and showed our commitment to see a better India. Recently, we saw thousands who united and sustained a leaderless movement in New Delhi and pledged that the change begins with us.

The India of tomorrow is the India of our dreams. As Rabindranath Tagore said,

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high

Where knowledge is free

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments

By narrow domestic walls

Where words come out from the depth of truth

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way

Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit

Where the mind is led forward by thee

Into ever-widening thought and action

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake

With best wishes to all fellow Indians on the Republic day

Jai Hind!

The author is a Consultant for The South Asian Times. She can be reached at [email protected]