About India.

I had typed the following 2 days ago.


Tomorrow we celebrate 59th( or is it 58th) Independence day. So let me try to make a list of few things about India.

1)India achieved independence on 15th Aug , 1947. (From nearly 200 yrs of British Rule)

2)India is second most populous country in the world.

3)India is a poor country.

4)No other country probably has as many languages, ethnic communities, religions as India has.

5)India is relatively a safe country. (Compared to some african and asian nations)

6)India is a very, very diverse country with perceptible differences according to geography, religion,..

7)Most of Indians (above 80%) are Hindus, 12-14% Muslims and rest sikhs, christians, buddhists, jains...

8)India is endowed with reasonable natural resources like water, minerals etc. Unfortunately we lack oil. :(

9)India is plagued by caste system. For dummies, caste system is kind of racism that's prevalent for centuries.

10)Indian politicians are percieved to be corrupt, and they are. :(

11)Indian economy was highly regulated till early 1990s. Liberalisation helped in reducing poverty in the past 15 yrs.

12)Except for 3 yrs of emergency , we had a democracy, however flawed it is.

13)Indians are very poor performers in sports. Not even a single individual gold medal in olympics. :( :( :(

14)Indian people are not chritable enough. (personal opinion)

15)Our public policy severly lacks planning.

16)We have 2 corrupt(in every way) parties at the top. Congress & BJP. Regional parties are oppurtunistic. Communists are honest but confused & stupid.

17) Education is given lot of importance atleast in some parts of country. Ofcourse teaching methods are still archaic.

18) Indians form one of largest immigrant communities in as many as 30 countries of world. Manpower export is one of significant exports of this country.

19)Freedom of media is very, very high. But abused by media. :)

20)Our culture is mostly kitschy.

21)People are very tolerant. probably over tolerant.Or shall I say apathetic.

22)We have militancy in many parts of country. But still not strong enough to be a significant threat to the social order and state. (Like as in Nepal)

23) We have a continuous stupid irritant in Pakistan. (And vice versa) Lot of resources are spent on armed forces. in both the countries.

24)North Indians dominate South Indians in politics. South Indians just don't care and live better. :)

25)We have a successful nuclear, space & missile programs. (or so we are told)

26) Only 60% of Indians are literate. I believe that less than 10% are adequately literate.

27)Indian businesses are dominated by certain tribes who have no qualms about anything. :(

28) I suspect a grand alliance of politicans-business people - hooligans is at work to supress all others in India. Or else how can one explain well being of Ambanis, Lalu Prasa yadav and Dawood Ibrahim?

29)Indians make lot of movies, most of them trash by any standard.

30)People use emotion as a weapon, mostly againest themselves. :)

31)Most of marriages are arranged. That shows state of progress in our country.

32)Hygiene is poor at all levels of scoiety.

33)Though people are good on personal level, collectively we can be foolish.

34)Religious intolerance is being encouraged by some mainstream parties.

35)Symbolism often dominates practicality.

36)Too much power is vested in the hands of few.

37) Bureaucrats behave like children of destiny.

38)Indians are these days known for software, diamond trade, textile trade,..

39)Self Reliance policy seems to have helped India in some aspects. Unlike china, foreign capital isn't a big factor in Indian economy. Atleast not yet.

40)Cricket is a national obsession. But unfortunately we don't excel even in that game. Individual pursuits come before anything else. Except for 1 or 2 players, all others play either to save their skin or make more money and not for winning.

41)Roads are ok. In the sense, they always seem to be improving. Ofcourse no comparision with highways of western nations.

42)Railways are a big part of Indian life. Service is ok and affordable. But it can be much better wih better administration and less govt control.

43)Most of Indias, atleast from middle and higher sections of soceity are hypocratic.

44)Spirit of adventure is severly lacking in Indians.

45)Most of Indians are innocent, or shall I say less informed. (Is that good or bad?)

46)Women are denied equal rights in many parts of country.

47)Certain sections of society known as Scheduled Castes & Tribes are severly discriminated againest. :(

48) Civil debate is devoid of intelligence & logic. :(

49)Corruption is a way of life.

50)There is new found optimism across the country these days.

51)we have a great history. Depends on interpretation. We hve some great stories in our mythologies.

52) India is birthplace of 3 religions. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism.

53)China is viewed as a threat in economic and military sense.

I wanted to do atleast 100 things. But I am not in right mood. Some other time. Happy Independence day. (to those who care) To secure future of our children, to preserve and further our values,.. let us cherish our independence. Yeah, I know it sounds like those stupid presidential speeches in hollywood movies. :)