Proud to be an Indian?

I went to buy the tickets of India vs England clash in the World Cup on Saturday. I was too excited for this match, just like any other Indian. I was hoping to see Sachin. Last time I went in Ind-Aus practice match and Sachin didn’t play in it. So this was probably my best chance to see him live. But Bangalore police had something else in stores for us.

For a stadium whose capacity is 45000, only 4000 tickets were issued for general public. More than 10000 strong crowds gathered in the stadium for tickets. As the tickets sold out in just a few minutes, the crowd got raged.  Result: lathicharge and a complete chaos. People broke barricades, hoardings etc. But more disgusting was the presence of agents with stocks of tickets in their hands. My brother went to the stadium on match day and same agents were selling Rs 1250 tickets for Rs 5000!

I had to return empty handed and disappointed. All my dreams were shattered. I was frustrated not only because I didn’t got tickets. Neither was I angry on the mismanagement of BCCI. What hurt me most was that democracy was being killed in front of my eyes and I could not do anything about it. This single incident shook my faith so much that I asked myself “Am I still proud to be an Indian?”

My heart said it was still proud. But my mind didn’t believe it. I could not think of even a single reason to be proud of India. Should one love and feel proud of his country just because its his motherland? Can you keep ignoring all the corruption, the dishonesty of your own people and the incompetency of your own elected representatives so that you can proudly boast about your country’s culture, moral and values? The answer is clearly NO.

It was then that I looked out of my window and saw merry kids going to school. I saw women selling flowers on the roadside, people hurrying towards office, roadside vendors selling tea and coconuts. Everyone was busy with himself/herself regardless of what happened a few kms away. One common thing I observed was a satisfaction on their face. And I knew my answer all of a sudden.

Yes, I am still proud of my country. Administration and politicians maybe one of the reasons to hate it, but I have a billion others to love it! I am proud of the country feeding 1.3 billion people every day.  I am proud of the opportunities that are provided to me and my fellow citizens to excel. I am proud of the freedom I enjoy. I am proud of the rights given to me. I am proud of the rich culture of the country. I am proud of being a part of the largest democracy and oldest civilization of the world. I am proud because I can follow any religion I like, can talk in any language, live in any part of the country and do any job. India doesn’t have a dual citizenship. So, I can migrate 2500 kms away from my home to pursue my dreams, and no one would make a fuss about it. And I am proud of that! I am proud of the diversity in culture, language, religion, geography, flora and fauna of my country. I am proud of the people of India who despite all the troubles and differences between themselves, live a happy, peaceful and satisfying life.

Its true that we cannot ignore the questions I put up earlier. But we must not forget that the politicians and administrators, corrupt agents, bureaucrats, Government employees, all comes from amongst us. They are the part of the society we live in. In fact, they are just the reflection of the society. If we stop buying tickets from corrupt agents and policemen, this practice would stop. Same is the case with other problems like bribery. When we pay a traffic policeman bribe in front of a kid, we show him a way to get things done in a faster and easier way. Thus, we all are the culprits. Its just that due to the public life of the politicians, and sometimes due to the magnitude of their scams, they get to lime light, while we escape. Unless we change ourselves, the system can never change. As Gandhiji said “Be the change you want the world to be”.

I would like to conclude this blog with these wonderful lines of a song by MJ.

“I am starting with the man in the mirror

I am asking him to change his ways

And no message could have been any clear

If you wanna make the world a better place

Take a look at yourself and make a change”