(Image from ibnlive.com)
Being at Nandan Nilekani’s book reading event for his book “Imagining India” in the backdrop of the Mumbai horror, one felt that there was a need for each of us to re-imagine the India we want to live in, and to make sure our dreams are never held to ransom again.
The perpetrators for this act, wherever they are, will have to be brought to book. But let us also look inside ourselves, on where we as a nation have gone wrong. Let’s imagine India once again.
- Imagine an India where a brave officer like Hemant Karkare will never be ostracized by a opportunistic polity. Rather they will focus on getting the best equipment to the police so that they are not left facing AK-47s with mere .303s.
- Imagine an India where we shall never again tolerate a politician being opportunistic and using a tragedy like this to forward his goals.
- Imagine an India where the media will not call this India’s 9/11 just for sound bites but would rather make sure that our politicians and our responses measure up to what the other democracy put up.
- Imagine an India where we stop all the bickering amongst us, where we are united in our dreams for ourselves and our country so that no one dare look at us with deadly designs ever again.
- Imagine an India where people relate to each other on the basis of their dreams and aspirations, not on the basis of misguided religious and regional fervor.
- Imagine an India where other nations would never be able to raise fingers at a delayed response.
- Imagine an India where we shall never take something like this lying down.
Let’s get involved in our communities and localities. Let’s get out and vote. Let’s get out and debate. Let a Deve Gowda never again be allowed to choke a city with his rally and then respond unapologetically that he didn’t care as Bangaloreans didn’t vote anyway. Let’s all log on to www.jaagore.com and be the change we want to see.
Let’s pledge to work hard in our own spheres. Let’s look inside ourselves, improve our deficiencies rather than blaming someone else for our woes. Japan was rebuilt after ww2 into the 2nd largest economy not by attacking the US but by every citizen working hard towards a common goal – to make their country great.
Let’s educate the rural masses so that they are not misled by communal forces. Let us all start questioning and demanding more from our politicians.
Let’s stop fighting amongst ourselves and reclaim the tolerant image we as a culture had, but which has been long lost. Let a Raj Thackeray or a Narendra Modi never get mileage out of dividing the country. Let us remember the people who put down their lives for Mumbai were not only Marathi manoos but also came from Bihar and Bangalore; The people who were killed were not only Hindus but also Muslims and Jews and Christians.
Let’s start to respect the other’s viewpoint and not to resort to arms whenever a river’s water is disputed or a statue defaced.
Most of all, let’s not once again let this anger and frustration within us die down; Let’s not get satisfied with the clichéd “Spirit of Mumbai” tag. Rather let’s ensure that this emotion makes us work towards ensuring that such an incident is never repeated again on Indian soil, ever.
Bhavish
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