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January 28 - February 3, 2012

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Indians React

Miles still to go... India

As the nation celebrated its 63rd Republic Day, SATimes spoke to a cross-section of Indian youth to know their views about the relevance of this day to them, how far do they think has our democracy moved and their idea of a developed nation.
Ankit Kharod from Vadodara, Gujarat currently working as an Electrical Engineer outside the city of Philadelphia The Republic Day is clearly one of the most significant days in Indian history, considering our constitution came into effect on that day. It's a day when I appreciate being born in a country with a constitution that pushes forward a democratic and free nation ideology. India has come a long way, when it comes to being a living and breathing Democracy, the gift our forefathers bestowed upon us. In light of the current Anna Hazare led anti-corruption movement, one can say that surely, Indians are not afraid to take on to the streets in order to make a point. This is however, one part. A huge part of being a democratic nation, is to shine its bright light around the world while being successful in defending one's own democracy from the eyes and deeds of violent states/individuals. India hasn't been able to do a great job in defending its territory from frequently attemptDr.Siddharth Jain, Gastroenterologist, Indore Surgical ed assaults, coming from outside or inside the country; this results in an insecure nation, which can be harmful to our goal of furthering our cause of democracy. The fact that 40 per cent of our children are still malnourished, points to two main issues: a) A vibrant democracy needs a responsible and responsive government, which doesn't engage in corruption and helps in looking after the needy. This clearly isn't the case with our country. b) Another vital piece to a democracy is its citizenry. The fact that we as a nation can go to bed at night and swipe away our flashy credit cards mindlessly when 40 % of our nations' children are malnourished, is quite telling. We need to instill a sense of belonging as well as a fundamental quality of charity in our current and future generations so as to help avoid the danger of being called an inhumane democracy.

Siddharth Shah, Pharma IT Functional Consultant, Pune: The day reminds me of the promises that our leaders made for a post independent India in 1947. Salute to our soldiers who protect us and I hope to see an India where we can say "saare jaha se aacha, Hindostan hamara." As far as my perception of how far our democracy has moved? Well, nowhere. It is development

without vision. First we need the political will, then policies with practical governance and transparent feedback from citizens to know how good/bad the policies being implemented are.

Republic day for me carries a very special meaning. It instills in me a sense of pride and patriotism. The day confers and reiterates the power of the people of India. It tells us that we are the masters of our country, which we have conveniently forgotten over the last 50 years. But most of all on the Republic day the images which gets the adrenaline pumping and gives me goose bumps are of our army and the other wings marching past. The valor and dignity, the loyalty and bonds between the soldiers, the

patriotism surges and also the hatred for the political class increases because you see them fighting for their betterment while the people who give away their lives for all of us are neglected and never taken care of. To enjoy power we have to be responsible and believe in ourselves. The centuries of slavery has weakened our genetic structure to such a great level that the mutation has become the norm. We always believe that somebody else will come to solve our problems, first there were

the kings, then the Britishers, then came Gandhiji and other leaders, after that the politicians took over. We as a nation have never believed in our potentials and have always looked up to others to solve our problems, whether it is God or other mortals. Our democracy has become strong no doubt, otherwise we wouldnt be

having this discussion. But the progress and the democracy has been skewed, we have substituted our cowardice and spinelessness as our tolerance, which makes us more and more weak. Our development has also been skewed and for a select few with the leftovers passed to the common people who are satisfied with some basic facilities like cars and cell phones. Corruption is the most difficult problem facing our nation at present. We as a nation have to rise above our basic needs. We have to have the moral courage to stand up against wrong and injustice and learn to ask questions and displease those in power.

By Hiral Dholakia-Dave
Kiran Singh, Teacher, New Delhi School encouraging to see how the youth today feels and expresses their patriotism. Given our geographical diversity our development is uneven. Some areas have benefited a lot from the centers policies, some have remained deprived. Theres this huge gap which needs to be bridged.

Jatin Chaudhary, entrepreneur & CEO, SweetlyDesigns, Ahmedabad The republic day reminds me of the greatest step of a country to become self sufficient and be directed by the wishes of its citizens and not by a dictatorial monarchy. I am very proud to be the citizen of the largest democracy in the world in spite of being hamstrung with all sorts of problems. Right To Information, Indian Judiciary, Election Commission are some of the great examples of the success of Indian democracy which gives power to common man to take on the powerful. Recently Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh termed malnutrition

How can we forget the contribution of those who fought for our freedom? Republic Day is a great way to honor those who make us proud, because of whose sacrifices we are able to live without any fear. In day and age of Facebook it is

as a matter of national shame, so definitely we haven't developed enough where almost half of the Indians are still not able to get the basic necessities in life. To solve such problems we really need to focus on inclusive development and enable the grassroots people to earn sustainable livelihood. I believe if we can make our people in remotest areas resourceful enough to earn the livelihood it would be one of the greatest achievements as a country. progress but considering from where we started 60 years back we sure havent done bad. All we need is a focused growth, able leadership and efficient system. But thats asking for too much isnt it? I am optimistic though. The way people came out in full support of Anna Hazare proved the extent to which people are frustrated with the system. If people in the Arab world can bring about massive change we are the largest democracy.

Shreya Dholakia, Post Graduate student of Microbiology Post Graduate student of Microbiology: Going by the current scenario, Republic day seems more of an occasion to show-off for political leaders. We ourselves have made a limitation in making the best of democracy. Apart from the election process we hardly get involved. In fact what per cent of the literate elec-

torate cares to go and vote while we as a nation of 35 per cent youth should be able to make a huge difference at the ballots. We have developed but we still need a direction. The growth is haphazard. The government has started programs like 'Madhyahn Bhojan' even rationing schemes for rural areas but due to corruption majority are still away from benefiting from those.

Vidya Sharma, home maker, Bangalore My mom used to make us watch the R-Day parade on television and I have continued with the tradition. I think the visuals of our fleets march past and the display of our military might are moments of pride for all Indians at heart. We sure havent had our share of visionary leaders steering the country on a steady path of