Sixty, Strong & Sexy!

So we know India's Independence Day is here again. Note, we "know"; and not we "celebrate". Yes, there are functions, parties, ceremonies, editorials (!), and rallies, but  hello, are we really, genuinely, sincerely celebrating the moment, the day, the year, the occasion? The truth is whistling - rather noisily - in the wind, and there's no point kidding ourselves. After all, unlike, say our neighbour, we have enjoyed 60 years or er..reckless independence, have we not? So truth to tell, no one really celebrates. Oh yes, we do pop the champagne, but the fizz is not in the celebration. A national holiday, is for everything but the nation. Despite the show of loud, soulless celebrations. Flag-strings will be pulled, platitudinous speeches from ponderous pedestals, children dragged to the Parade, and made to dance (to everyone's tunes) and more. The tamasha over, we return to our own comfort zones, our chores, tired and spent, any connection with love for the country, is purely (co)incidental!

Six decades may be a blip in history but it is still sixty years, time enough to reflect. Where does India stand today after 60 years of Independence?  The country has made very substantial progress from subsistence economy to surplus economy, from fledgling one-major party republic to vibrant multiparty democracy, from owning a shy, peace-loving (meek?) military to a mighty nuclear power state, from a largely superstitious society to an increasingly modern, forward-looking community, and from a self-satisfied entity to a hugely aspiring nation. India, once synonymous with the great rope trick, snake charmers, and sadhus resting on spiked beds, is today hailed as a giant awakened, a tiger roaring, the next superpower. The World Bank has ceased to call India a developing nation, branding it instead as a 'transforming' nation, which is to suggest that India is spreading its wings and emerging as a force to reckon with. Good news indeed!

Behind this veneer lies a modicum of hard, cruel, reality. Corruption, communalism, naxalism and terrorism, crime and violence stride the nation as never before. Politics has become a game of intrigues and shenanigans than a commitment to good governance. Social evils like female foeticide, sati, dowry, bride burning are still rampant. Education, health and sanitation, housing and employment benefits still remain a pipedream for the majority.