Fighting for Principles? Dont forget to live up to those!!

Heya again ! This one is again a 30 minute attempt on something which I feel is the easiest to say but most difficult to implement. I wrote this to improve myself on this aspect of life and I would be glad if it changes even 1% of the way you approach your life after this ...

There is a simple but profound saying which goes like this – “A person not living up to his own words is not deemed to be a MAN”. It lays the foundation of the very existence of truth in this world and this very quote leads to the explanation of success of the greatest reformers the world civilization has ever seen. Their success in changing the outlook of this world sits on only one important thing – They knew how to stand by what they are rooting for and they knew how to lead by example!!

The rich Indian history in itself is a proof to this very fact. From the Rajas and the emperors to the sultans and ruling Britisher’s, the only way to stamp their authority over this vast spread of humanity was by sticking to their words. Many found it difficult and many succumbed to its immense pressure leading to their decline. The major difficulty faced by a person in these situations is nothing but the level of trust he has developed on his soul. It often lets him down and renders him powerless at the time when he needs it the most. That is why we have a person like “Mahatma” taking birth only once in a lifetime. He embodies an ocean of strength, unmatchable to the lesser mortals – don’t get me wrong, he was not a Mike Tyson but he had it in him to fight and win on mental strength against any living soul existing on the planet. He was someone who stood by his teachings and was the one who “did present his left cheek when he got smacked on his right one in front of the English” to preach non-violence, his only weapon through which he won his country back from the ruthless whites.

It is not easy to be a Mahatma and it is not easy to dream like him even, but the bottom line remains - it is most difficult to stick and live up to the principles which you are rooting for.

Globalization and its effect on cultural Integrity

Friends I chose this topic because I would like each one of you to spare a thought on this. One could write on this for hours but this is what I could express by time bounding myself to just 30 minutes.

Globalization is a path towards an improved economy, a stable government, and may be even towards a peaceful democracy but it is definitely not a healer to the deteriorating culture in a history enriched nation. It is something which has to handled with care when implemented amongst the people who worship their culture and boast it to the entire world.

Nowadays, it is worth noting that the most simple and the precise logic followed by a country aspiring to stamp its authority gloablly, is by following the footsteps of the world leaders themselves. From my experience of almost 22 yrs in India, I am now aware of the little tit bits and the mentality of an Indian commoner. It is the truth which no one can deny, that we try to mimic the west from the things we wear in our personal life to the improvement targets we set for ourselves in our professional life. Let me highlight this claim here by presenting few common day issues which rock India day in and day out.

Obscenity onscreen and off screen is the hottest topic which the Indian media wants to get its hand on because in fact this has not been accepted by the Indian public yet. A kiss to express love onscreen, as done in Hollywood, if shown to the Indian public generates a roar in the entire country. Our culture limits these things by not allowing it to go public. People are not found showing their intimacy in this land of "Kamasutra". The newer generation abandons the restrictions laid by our culture and tries to act modern by immitating the west, in effect destroying the uniqueness established by our culture and disrespecting the elders who have guarded the Indian tradition for centuries. Gay rights is another such bomb which has exploded in India in the last year or so. Seeing the public becoming open minded in the west makes us think that we are bounding ourselves by not allowing our mind to broaden its horizon. But the fact remains that apart from the few who vote for this change, majority in India would hate to see a man hitting on another in a night club.

Americanisation has really taken its toll on the highly cherished Indian culture and continues to rock its backbone with every passing day.

Vision India 2025

Most of the countrymen when asked impromptu on the remedial steps that needs to be taken to make INDIA a flourishing country and a global power by 2025 -say- a very simple yet correct line - “identifying potentials and anticipating the challenges to our future progress in different sectors of the national economy and overcoming them as they come step by step.” But does it alone constitute a vision of the country’s future? These disparate threads need to be woven together to reflect the integrated nature of our national life. Then, there still remains the question of whether to be preoccupied by the negative possibilities or to throw our full weight behind efforts to fully realize the positive potentials revealed by this analysis. The point of emphasis here stays that individuals have to come up and raise their voice against the harassment doomed upon the common mass and the society as a whole by some of the stealthy politicians in the name of their so called venomous weapon - “communism”. Dreams need not be dreams anymore and the promising dynamic youth of this country should take the responsibility of a peaceful and prosperous India on their broad shoulders.

But in all this, where do I stand? Saying a statement and implementing it are two different things and I make it a point that I always stick by this fact so that I can always motivate people by presenting myself as a live example in front of them.

By 2025, I see INDIA bustling with energy, entrepreneurship and innovation in all sectors. In particular I visualize India becoming a world leader in the agricultural market and utilizing its extensive lucrative farm lands in an exhaustive manner. Exporting crops in huge amounts would make this business an attractive option to the entrepreneurs and hence the development of this industry would automatically create a lot of employment opportunities around. To peep a little deeper into the corporate world I would say that India’s claim to the title Silicon Valley of Asia will be followed by the diversification from IT to biotechnology, medical sciences and other emerging fields of technology, widening the field of India’s international competitiveness and generating a large number of employment opportunities for the educated youth.

I might not be lying here if I say that in 10 yrs from now I would be leading a company started by myself in the technological arena that would then become a major player highlighting INDIA’s modern approach towards becoming a leader in this competitive world. But to me right now the most critical pulse of our country which needs to be touched and mentioned here is the uplifting of the regions where people die due to starvation, lack of proper medical aid in their vicinity, where people can’t even think of doing any work in night for no electricity till now has been gifted to them by our “caring” government, where parents even fear sending their children to study as they believe everything else outside their small little world is a hoax. Can a true heart of an Indian, who thinks for his country ever sit idle after knowing that these places still exist in our country and our brothers and sisters are still caged in that mind-regressing environment? I couldn’t. I found out a society GYWS (Gopali Youth Welfare Society) in its nascent state which was operating close by to my college campus, having its vision similar to what I had. I shook hands and gave my heart to that and after 6 months now I feel proud to have played my part in establishing one of our major projects - a school in the village for the deprived children and giving them English education free of cost. Expansion of this school and its sustainment is one of the major challenges in front of us.

“By 2025, I see the country’s 1.45 billion people will be better fed, dressed and housed, taller and healthier, more educated and longer living than any generation in the country’s long history. Illiteracy and all major contagious diseases will have disappeared. School enrolment from age 6 to 14 will near 100 per cent and dropout rates will fall to less than one in twenty.” – doesn’t this statement seem to be a baseless dream? A true solid base is given to this statement if and only if the person stating this adds to it, his contributions in taking INDIA towards fulfilling that dream. Through our society as an initial step we wish to extend our support to the deprived and the underprivileged weaker section of the society and uplift them in a way that will help in their integration back with the society, along with infusing a feeling of taking the lead, whenever the society craves for you. Apart from education, we focus on imbibing the true ideals of humanity in our students and thus enlightening the future generation, paving the way to a prosperous “tomorrow” built on a strong “today”. Spreading the message of this society to the unaware youth throughout INDIA is of utmost importance too, as to start this helping act in a mass movement now, would help INDIA inch towards the vision set by many for it, in the coming decade.

By 2025, I see inequalities between different age groups, the sexes, income groups, communities and regions coming down dramatically. The old disparities between the very rich and the poor would not have disappeared, but the nature of poverty by then will not be nearly as harsh and oppressive as it was at the turn of the millennium. India’s achievements have been fuelled by the realization that the progress of the whole country ultimately depends on the progress of its weakest links; I see myself playing my part via this society to start a nationwide youth awareness campaign, the success of which would ensure all levels and sections of the population and all parts of the country, march forward together towards a more secure and prosperous INDIA 2025.

Apart from this I see myself implementing and popularizing the computerized “distance education” which will leapfrog most of our hurdles towards quality education to all and enable tens of thousands more students to opt for affordable higher education.

Now coming to parts where I see government taking initiatives on their own. The over-increasing congested urban traffic will be motorized as never before. Two wheelers will be ubiquitous and cars will be considered essential for most middle class families. Inter-city highways, connectivity to the rural regions and intra-city multi-lane roads will improve substantially in number, capacity and quality, but a four-fold multiplication in the number of vehicles will clog the urban infrastructure to the limit. Cell phones, computers and the Internet will permeate every aspect of life and every corner of the country. A massive afforestation programme will reverse the depletion of forest areas, raise the nation’s Green cover to 33 per cent of area, generate millions of rural employment opportunities, and provide abundant renewable energy from biomass power production. Rising levels of education, employment and income will help stabilize India’s internal security and social environment. A united and prosperous India will be far less prone to external security threats.

Above all I see INDIA 2025 characterized by a better-educated electorate and more transparent, efficient and decentralized government and bubbling with minds like us who along with themselves want to take their country to achieve greater heights.