What Ails India?

India is a great country. This is not coming from someone who is a fanatic, neither is this coming from someone who has seen all and been everywhere. But still, I must say India is a great country and before you have that smirk on your face - think deep and ask yourself what you really know about India. I am not being original here but taking a leaf from Swami Vivekananda's lecture in The Parliament Of Religions at Chicago. He was beginning his speech when he saw that the audience wasnt intereseted, and was busy talking among themselves ,waiting for the next speaker.What could this monk from India teach them? So he quietly changed his speech and asked the audince the very same question : What do you knw about Hinduism? and even the Hindus in the audience were put to shame.

So India is a great country. The greatness lies in the fact that it has survived for so long. Though under different names but it has always been here, since the time human civilization started. It is the only one of the old civilizations that is still flourishing. But it has problems.

Population: I think thats the biggest problem that faces India. With its large population it is a slow moving nation. Man is a totally random animal and irrational. The more number of men you put together the more random it will be and more irrational. So with a population of more than a billion India is a random country. It is difficult to feed and clothe such a large number of people. Not Impossible but difficult. But ways and means have to be found and right now I want to play the role of the left parties. I want to identify the problems and leave solutions to the rest of you.

Politics and Corruption: I put the two together because they go hand in hand. Politicians are corrupt and a corrupt man is a politician in the way he handles his affairs. But this problem is a direct offshoot of the earlier one. The more fish you have the more bad ones you will have. And anyways Democracy is an invitation to corruption. Because it assumes an ideal scenario. It assumes that every voter is sure what he wants and how he can get it. And it assumes that every candidate will be true and honest in his election manifesto. In India with still a strong rural base this is still a far cry from reality. If you ask me I would prefer a King to a Prime Minister any day. Atleast its God that chooses who is going to rule us and not a bunch of ill informed illiterate people. And if you look back we have examples of great Kings - Wise and Noble. And if you look at the most successful politicians it are those that have powers similar to Kings. That is absolute Power.

Outward looking: Another major problem I think is that for every problem we either look to the west or the east. We have had so many problems of our own in the past and we have overcome then with aplomb. So why should that change now. Why follow a model that s not applicable to us. I mean a donkey cant see a tiger hunting and try hunting himself. He has to eat grass, maybe fruit but meat never. If the problems are here the solutions are right here too.We only have to know where to look. And we cant afford to lose our ancient history or culture for some things that arent applicable to us. I for one dont like Change that are unnecessary because a change in the long run only creates situation that need more change. I mean adaptation is a never ending processbut its a natural one. You cant do it concsiously but you have to let it happen. Anyways I will stop for now.