We often crib about the poor state of affairs of our nation. We are ruthless at attacking our elected representatives on their governance. We have started loving to hate our governments on issues such as decrepit roads, improper sanitation facilities in the country, malnutrition, the fact that 70% of the nation is still below the poverty line and more recently the security issues. I think it is fair for the people of this country to be unhappy and dissatisfied even after 60 years of independence and despite now being well into the 21st century. The China- comparison only makes the resentment grow among us.
I sometimes can’t help but draw an analogy wherein I see India as one huge, mammoth-sized machine with thousands of complicated mechanical parts with grease all around them (obviously to make the parts function smoothly), yet rusted at most ends. A machine that should function 24 hours round the clock, 365 days in a year, a machine which is always under maintenance (which from the face of it looks shoddy), a machine which produces all kinds of noises, it creeks, it groans, it spews oil only to suggest that this is one old dilapidated machine which needs a replacement. Yet, the machine does not stop functioning.
When we got independence from the British Empire, we not only inherited the railway network or the postal service or the English language which were solid foundations for India that was to grow and become self-sufficient, but the codicil to the British will also prescribed for us- a major chunk of the rural population, bureaucracy, hunger, depleted reserves of every kind from food grains to foreign currency… and ofcourse our neighbor Pakistan. Yet, we had a visionary in Nehru who gave us the IIMs, the IITs, the public sector. He launched programmes to harness nuclear energy. He asked for dams to be built, power projects to be erected. No wonder he is called the ‘Architect of Modern India’.
But we faced 2 wars during his term as India’s PM. Today we are continually pestered and needled by China who claims its right over Tawang which is very much a part of our Arunachal Pradesh. The McMahon line is still disputed. Our foreign ministry seems to be always kowtowing China. Then there has been an obvious chronic problem on the west side with Pakistan. They continue to wound us all across with their terrorism nexus. The government, as we know, keeps providing evidences to the Pakistani government against the culprits of the 26/11 attack so as to force Pakistan to bring them to book, but only in vain so far. We spend humungous amounts on our defense and internal security. Our intelligence agencies work round the clock to foil plots, yet the terrorist acts sometimes seem inexorable. To add to our government’s woes, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka too demand a separate foreign policy for each one of them.
As if the external threat was not enough, at home the government faces the rise of the Maoists who have managed to hold the government at ransom time and time again.
Moving from security issues, there are other vagaries the nation faces today. To list a few such as, an irresponsible opposition party in the parliament, being awarded the Commonwealth Games for 2010 but being frequently doubted on our ability to host them, the Satyam scam and the after effects of it, the world financial crisis which forced the government to dole out incentives to save our economy, poor rains, spiraling food inflation, being stocked out of rice and having to import it, the greenhouse gases issue that has recently forced the country to pledge emission cuts in the near future possibly at the cost of development, the ailing government airline company, the ever volatile prices of crude that hit everyone of us, the sectarian politics advocated by the Thackreys or the Mayawatis of this country, rains or lack of them in key agrarian states of India, not to forget a slew of scams viz., the Koda scam, the Babri Masjid report, the submarine scam, army ration pilferage scam, the 2-G spectrum swindle, the illegal monies in Swiss bank accounts and the list can run into pages.
Despite having drawn a grim picture of the ugly machine that India is, we still have managed to record better than expected figures of 2nd quarter growth showing light at the end of these financially woeful days. We continue to be counted as drivers of world economy in the future (along with China ofcourse). We continue to hold elections in a manner so as to attract awe from study groups from around the world. We continue to play an important role in redeveloping Afghanistan. We continue to be heard at world forums. We continue to attract foreign investments. We continue to give the fairest trial to Ajmal Kasab. We have finally been de-hyphenated from Pakistan at the international level. The machine continues to function.
But, all this only makes me more confused and fuddled. Should I as a citizen be happy with the state of affairs of this nation as we continue to progress, however slowly, despite the challenges (listed above) which are more or less inextricable? Obviously, to make our ministers more accountable is an answer. Or should we ask for more and be justified for being a dissatisfied lot? I don’t have the answers to the above. But India’s case doesn’t cease to amaze me and I for one will surely continue tracking it only in quest for answers.
