Watching the news these days is a sad experience. Except for the occasional flashes of good news, news, these days, is abound with examples of how low the human spirit can stoop to when the need so arises. What makes it even worse is the attitude of the news channel. They continue to flash the same news again and again, sometimes even hiding, or even modifying, the facts to suit their needs. But, they can’t be blamed altogether, after all it is us who watch these channels.

Voices, today, are screaming that India is moving ahead full-speed in the race for becoming the number one country in the World. The screams are so loud that the outsiders have begun to believe it. It is only when these outsiders come in, and have a look at the ground realities, that they realise that the screams are nothing but words.

As a new year – a new decade begins – India must look at what it needs to do to actually lead from the front. But, what is India? India is more than the Metros, the few big industrial names, the Cricket team, more than any single individual, body, or state. It is the sum of one billion plus people who are divided among themselves by lines of caste, creed, language, religion, state, economy and other such differences. When one section of the society moves forward, another section falls back, in an every action has an equal reaction kind of way. An example can be the suppression of other games by the the dominance of cricket.

Does India have the potential to lead the World?

Indeed it does. Even today, with all its ills, India has managed to secure for itself a position where China, USA and other developed countries have no choice but to keep an eye out for it. The recent recession in the developed economies has further helped India and China to catch up with the developed world. But, having potential does not automatically lead to success? Genius, as they say, is 1 % inspiration and 99 % perspiration.

India needs a change in mindset. The mindset needs to change from the top to the bottom.

But what is the reason behind this dysfunctional mindset?

The answer, I believe, is fear. Everyone is afraid.

The politician is afraid that whatever he might do, he might not get a second term, so he wants to amass as much wealth as he can. He is afraid that the other party might malign his image, so he digs deep to find dirt on other politicians.

The bureaucrat, or the sarkari babu, is afraid that he might get transferred to some remote location, or a desk job, if he doesn’t please his political masters, so he does his best to please them. He keeps aside his sense of duty and does what his political masters want him to. In the process if he can make a quick buck, or two, of his own, he wouldn’t mind that either.

The common man is the worst hit. He is afraid of everything. He is afraid of the forms he has to fill – and the palms he has to grease –  before he can get an electricity, water, or gas connection. Of course, he sees the wrongs in the system, yet he is afraid that if he raises a voice, he might be stripped of whatever semblance of life he might have. A recent example is the Ruchika Girhotra case. The family that tried to fight to get justice for the dead girl, had to suffer the consequences. This is just an example that came to light. Personally we see such examples, albeit on a lower scale, every day.

Why the Fear though?

The root cause of fear, I think, lies in scarcity. For a long time India, as a nation,  has suffered from unemployment, and under-employment. Parents have been blamed for decades for forcing their children to become either Engineers or Doctors, but what choice did they have? They knew that if their child was to have any decent shot at life, he should be a Doctor or an Engineer. In fact, if I look around my town today, the best houses still belong to the Bureaucrats, Doctors, or Engineers. So, why have we been blaming the poor parents, who only wanted what they thought was best for their children?

The times, however, are changing now. India offers more opportunity and access to facilities. The systems are changing, though very slowly. This pace can increase, but for that each one of us has to shed his, or her, fear, and stand up for what is right. It might be tough to begin with, but it brings with it great joy. It is time that we had a  re-look at these famous words penned by the great Rabindranath Tagore:

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

Image courtesy: asifthebes from sxc.hu