The challenges are immense – after all who can decide between the devil and deep sea with ease of mind. And that the most diverse nation on Earth, with hundreds of languages, all religions and cultures, is not only surviving, but thriving shows the genius of Indians and not their political system.
That the cradle of four major religions, the second largest Muslim nation on Earth; where Christianity has been benignly looked upon since its origin; where the oldest Jewish synagogues and Jewish communities have resided since the Romans burnt their 2nd temple; where the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile have found sanctuary; where the Zorostrians from Persia found a second and more permanent home; where Armenians and Syrians and many others have to come live; that the nation that dominated the commerce of the world for most of the civilization had megalomaniacs and regional chauvinists play musical chair with the top job with real fears as to their chances of occupying it not just shocks but paralyses all thought. There might soon be a branch of engineering called “social engineering”, as coined by probably one of the most statue obsessed lady in history, in this land currently infatuated by engineering.
The nation that could crown the most deserving intellectual as a prime minister only as a compromise candidate; whom, even today, his own cabinet and party address after saluting “madam”;where a catholic woman is the head of the ruling collation only because she married rightly; where the woman president is being protected by the presidential immunity from facing a case regarding obstruction of justice in a murder case; where possibly the most upright president and doubtlessly the most loved, regarded and deserving, was denied a second term because of just those reasons; where inspite of six and a half decades of independence, almost equal percentage of population languishes with abysmal poverty as the most backward of Sub-Saharan nations; where villages without a morsel to eat hack at each other at the direction of a distant and oppressive landlord most willingly; where the destination of glory is being achieved one painful step at a time despite and not because of its politics; where all the great powers are vying for influence, as it itself finds its place in the world.
And yet worry not – India’s greatness is assured, its beauty lies in its chaos and its strength in its contradictions. A people that withstood the idiosyncrasies of Bin Tuglaq and coped with the greatness of Chanakya will surely be able to keep its tryst with destiny no matter who leads it. So Dear World, here we come.
PS: This post was written in response to an article in one of the US papers. The style, and sometimes whole phrases, of the discourse could be from the article.
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