who is the hare here.....?

A single gaze is perhaps enough to foresee the fact that, “We the Indians are growing”. The change in socio-economic and political field is rapid. The vision 2020 has started becoming our mission. The ambit is broadening and the scope too. We are becoming much more innovative than what we were decades ago. The situation is as if the bell has been rung a year or two past, and we are now marching or rather running by hard to accomplish the goals. What’s more nice to see is that the so called young Indians are coming forward to mark their presence in the development of the country. The brain drain is at a decreasing rate and some proportion of the economy is tilling towards capitalistic ideas. Survey reveals that four of the ten richest people in the world belong to the nationality “Indian”. Our growing economy has caused a fear among the western countries.

History says, “History repeats”. The fact of the past explores to us with the hidden truth that- “Changes affects too”. Being an optimist, I believe, the affect must be minimal here. But are the waves helping us to predict so? Here lies the interrogation. Growth…? Is the country growing in proper aspect? A question unanswered.

The UNDP’s 2009 Human Development Report, has kept India at a rank of 132 (2 place decrease from last year’s), while neighboring Sri Lanka at 104^th position. Growth..? The growth is still in our population. Taking the govt.’s authorized data into account; the projected trend shows that we are going to wave our tricolor in the top list of population, leaving China behind. A current survey done by Forbes’s reveals that the financial capital and the national capital of India are respectively in the 7^th and 24^th position of the World’s Filthiest Place. Do we need to ignore these facts? The economy is growing each fiscal by nearly 8%, but still then lakhs of people are there who are unable to get their food and shelter; slums of Mumbai, streets of Kolkata unveils the truth.

It’s really hard to see the small faces, begging at the streets of metros. It’s even harder to describe them in words. But the truth is truth and nothing but the truth.

Coming to other aspect, it’s true again that the lads of India are working harder to make a mark in the world economy. And it is proving. While it was once stated, “the Wall Street sneezed; Dallal Street caught the cold…” (On the sudden downfall of stock market all over the world), but India’s economy did not responded in negative growth rate. The dream 2020 which projects that India is going to become a super power along with China has captured the vision of all. The rising youth force has caused a matter to think about, for the western countries. I feel, the huge youth populations of our country, who are trying to gain their popularity in different spheres of life, which are burning their calories to earn a much better living, are ultimately helping the country to grow in its economy. The rising numbers of entrepreneurs are helping business personnel to sketch new ideas, for achieving success. On the contrary, the surveyors are with the belief that the so called relaxed guys, of the United States, who belong from the most dominating country in the world economy, are helping their country to lose their feet from their position. And it’s a fact which is aghast for the aged Americans. Even in our television, we saw Barack Obama shouted on his election campaign – “Yes, we can (change)”. They are thinking now, what we perhaps have thought earlier.

The socio-political and economic doldrums situation of the world economy sometimes sails me towards my early days. Perhaps I was then on standard two, or may be three. There was a story of a Hair and Tortoise, who were running a race, the aftermath we all know, that the tortoise with its patience and consistence won the race. I remember my teacher then said that, each moral of a story are with some hidden truths of the world. Their essence can be felt in our day to day life, and if I am not wrong than every day we met such a hare and of course the tortoise too. It is patience, the self belief, the consistency, and the ultimate objectives, which makes to win our day to day battle. Consistency, doesn’t mean to act the same every time, but acting the same in similar aspect. In the words of Charles Darwin, “Survival of the fittest” and we are now struggling to survive. It’s not a Rat race, rather a race of strategies. I know not, who is the hair here…Who is going to take a halt, who is the tortoise behind or gone by, only I know that the land of diversity is rising and rising more. India is becoming Incredible India. We should be keeping in mind that we are modernizing and should not be westernizing.

The country India, has its glorious past, has its own culture and is famous for diversified people, who are again united, with the national anthem.

At this scenario, I can only say that if change is kissing our feet, then the country must not give away its entire heritage to earn the change. If one is predicting the country called India, with the tortoise, and then let me say that we are fortunate enough, as our past mascot had once one his race, and now it’s the turn of the nation.

I remember, once when Rakesh Sharma was on the space and the then Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi, had asked him, “How do you see INDIA from space?” The reply was simple, “SAARE JAHAN SE ACHCHA.” The reply here is too the same.

©sourav.mukherjee2009

souras@gmail.com