I hate many things in India. I hate its massive poverty, unemployment price rise, lack of healthcare and good education for the masses, malnourishment of 50% of its children, farmers suicides, discrimination against women, minorities, scheduled castes, etc. casteism, communalism, superstitions, politicians ( most of whom deserve to be shot ), most of the media ( which has descended to low levels in diverting the attention of the people from real issues to trivialities like lives of film stars, cricket, astrology, etc ), etc.
But I never thought that I have committed some sin in being born in India, as the great man recently said in Korea.
Despite all evils in India ( and there are many, as I have pointed out above ), I have always been proud of being an Indian. While hating its evils, I marvel and am wonderstruck by the outstanding achievements of our ancestors in science, art, literature, philosophy, culture, and the bravery of its heroes like Bhagat Singh, Surya Sen ( Masterda ), Chandrashekhar Azad, Ashfaqulla, Rajguru, Khudiram Bose, etc
Who was the greatest king the world has ever seen ? It was the great Emperor Akbar, who was 200 years ahead of his time. He adopted the policy of ' Suleh-e-kul ' i.e. Universal Toleration of all religions, at a time when Europeans were massacring each other in the name of religion.
Who invented the decimal system and the number 0, which were the greatest scientific discoveries of that time, without which little progress was possible ? It was our ancestors.
Who first taught and spread the message of compassion, ethics ( The Noble Eight Fold Path ) and equality among humans ? It was Gautam Buddha, and his great follower Emperor Ashoka, who was the first ruler in the world to conceive of the Welfare State ) ?
Which is the most scientific of all languages ? It is Sanskrit ( see my article ' Sanskrit as a language of Science' online and on my blog justicekatju.blogspot.in and the website kgfindia.com ).
Which poetry in the world expresses best the voice of the human heart ? It is Urdu poetry.
I could similarly go on, and on and on.
Yes, it is true that there is also a lot of filth in our society ( casteism, communalism, superstitions, etc ) today, and we are going through a bad patch in our history, which will probably last for another 20 years or so and will be very painful.. But does that mean we should hate our country ? No, the time has come in our history when real patriots are required for solving the country's massive problems.
I do not have many years to live ( I am 69 ). But during the remaining time in my life I will try to show Indian youth the correct path which will solve India's massive problems and provide decent lives to all Indians. It is in the hands of Indian youth that India's destiny and future lies. Will you be equal to the challenge, or will my words fall on deaf ears ?
