Is India really shining?

India Shining - A phrase coined back in 2003 but the one that continues to be a topic much in limelight even today in 2010. Back in 2003, it was first used to refer to the overall feeling of economic optimism in India after the plentiful rains and the success of the Indian IT boom. A slogan, popularized by the then-ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the 2004 Indian general elections, it was initially developed as part of an Indian government campaign intended to promote India internationally. But a phrase that today brings with itself the question,
Is India really shining?

India – A nation that now needs no proof for it’s excellence, Be it, Education, Technology, Sports, Music, Researches, or any other possible field, it has given to the world some of the best individuals. It is being cited among the top countries globally in almost every field today. India will start growing faster than China in 2013, so says a Morgan Stanley report. Yes, it is shining, so proves the report and predicts a better future. The primary reason it cites is the demographic dividend, supported by continuing economic reform and globalisation. India will see a declining trend in the share of non-working dependents (children and the elderly) in the population, and contribute 136 million people to the workforce over the next 10 years, while China will add just 23 million workers. India’s savings rate would go up, as would the share of consumption in China’s GDP.

Though the forecast is entirely realistic, yet it’s dubious – “Is India really shining?”

Yes, it is shining, in the malls, in the PVRs, in the pubs and the nightclubs, in the flyovers and the high rises of the metros. It is shining in the glitz and glamour of high income class living in the modern luxuries, earning high salaries. We certainly have come a long way from what we were, But.... Sadly, This is not the whole picture. This is very small part of the real picture of the nation taken as a whole. As a matter of fact, there’s a lot more to it. India is shining...
Still, people live on streets and pathetic slums.
Still, the homeless are dying in the severe cold of winters and burning heat of summers.
Still, dirty scantily clad children of the poor construction labourers can be easily found playing in unhygienic environment, who have never even thought of going to school.
Still, women, educated and working, are harassed for dowry, leading to dowry deaths.
Still, several villages are without electricity and pucca roads.
Still, agriculture depends on monsoons and farmers are committing suicides on crop failures and debts.
Yet, India is shining! Isn’t it? Yes, it indeed is a strong pun that I intend to put forward!

With facts and figures stating- Sensex is shooting, GDP growth rate is astronomical, Sports excelling, IT sector shining – all that put forward India’s progress and induce in us a belief that India will soon be heading the global lists in almost every sector, yet when it comes to reality, it is still a big question mark. Yes, we have such instances that make us very proud – Even the interns today are getting big opportunities and earning as much as one lakh per month, the researches made by students of Engineering colleges are making the country proud and yes we have examples of such good brains who are ruling the world, but still I land up questioning myself, Is India really shining???

So what makes me question myself again and again? It is the fact that the area of progress is just the urbanized India. Where in one place, we have a modern metro India enjoying the boon that technology offers, there’s another rural India completely deprived and unaware of it. There is a change required, a change that can make India shine in the real sense. A change, which if successful, can lead to astronomic improvement, An initiative by the government “To promote and support rural India”.

“Rural India” – Education, Awareness and Poverty are the main areas we need to work and improve in. Making the farmers aware of the technology, teaching them new and improved ways of agriculture, improving their standards of living will make the country grow considerably. The present scenario of “rich growing richer and poor growing poorer” leaves us nowhere. India- the land of various cultures, various castes, various religions is considered to be developing at a very fast pace yet it is a known for caste-distinctions, girls being killed for dowry, people being humiliated for their caste and yet........ We say India is shining? A big fail in itself, Isn’t it?

So the need of hour is to lay more focus on rural India, address the issues like corruption, terrorism, molestation and above all the need to raise the level of common man. It will be with the rural India shining, that India will shine. Another important need of India is to learn “The lesson of self-help and self-reliance”. On June 10, 1947, Gandhi said: “The first lesson we must learn is of self-help and self-reliance. If we assimilate this lesson, we shall at once free ourselves from disastrous dependence upon foreign countries and ultimate bankruptcy. This is not said in arrogance but as a matter of fact. We are not a small place... We are a subcontinent, a nation of nearly 400 millions. We are a country of mighty rivers and a rich variety of agricultural land with inexhaustible natural-wealth. Our country, if it had not been neglected during the past few centuries, should not today only be providing herself with sufficient food, but also be playing a useful role in supplying the outside world with much-needed stuff of which the late war has unfortunately left practically the whole world in want. This does not exclude India”.

Powerful words, which if understood, induce an all-new confidence in us, make us believe in ourselves and our country. We need to realize that we have immense sources which if utilized can make India shine in real sense. We are a powerful nation and moves by us in the proper direction can make us succeed beyond imagination. But what we need to ask ourselves is: “Who is more powerful to change or improve you more than YOU yourself?” If this becomes the slogan of the nation and each person tries to put his small effort for country’s progress, collectively it can have a huge impact. All we do is complain, complain and further complain! We complain about corruption, molestation, terrorism! But do we do our bit? There is a stark change required, in the thinking of Indians! Another problem with the people of India is the lack of respect for their own country! We “Indians”, from dance to dresses we want to be westernized. Our kids want to learn western dance, wear western dresses, they love pasta more than any Indian dish and then we call ourselves Indians. So who is be blamed if not us? We want to see things happening but don’t want to contribute. And it is this thinking which is the biggest hindrance in our path.
So, the day,
when Rural India will be developed, aware and educated,
when All Indians will be proud of themselves,
when there’ll be least corruption, least molestation, equality in all respects in India,
will be considered as the day of victory for India.

It’ll be that proud day I’ll believe India is really shining.