Requiem for a dream?

A land of myriad people,ours is a nation inhaling and exhaling diversity in its every breath. You have umpteen languages, religions, sects and even sub-sects which form a multi-dimensional grid in which every inhabitant can be slotted. And each flavour of this diversity brings along its own baggage of prejudices nurtured through centuries of mistrust. The very fact that we have survived over almost sixty years as a single democratic entity often boggles me. What is it that prevented us from fragmenting into smaller nations each seeking to find and plot their own destiny on their own terms ? Surely, it isnt not just the Sardar who we have to thank (although to him we as a nation are forever indebted). He knitted us into a single geography, but what is the thread that has sewn us and held us together, inspite of all the push and pull in the social fabric of our existence. Yes, we collectively share a past, a history of assimilations and amalgamations in this vast land. But I think I am deluding myself if I consider that there was ever really a collective consciousness or shared identity upto some fifty years prior to independence. The numerous empires that were repeatedly built and razed over this land were but poor substitutes. One concession that I will give the Mahatma and his coterie is that totally flawed though the non-violent movement for independence was, it unified the people all over the country and organised them, all for one common cause. There surely were other more effective means to drive out the British, but none of them could have infused a spirit of nationalism and shared angst across the length and breadth of the country. So yes, in some ways, the Mahatma is the father of the nation. After independence, despite the innumerable squabbles on grounds of historic grievances, we have managed to survive and plod on. So it seems to me that a nation isnt born but needs to be developed and nurtured.

So I am ever hopeful that in the long term, things shall evolve and we as a nation shall develop. A nation, where we can truly celebrate our diversity, where we can think rationally and manage our affairs better, a place where the rulers are accountable to the subjects. Where everyone is an equal. Thats my dream. But often I am forced to wonder if with all the corruption, the religious bigotry and a dysfunctional political leadership, we are doing alright? And worst of all, what can I do about it? Why, I am even unable to vote out an ineffective, corrupt and criminal politician. It has come to a point that the govt passes legislations which sacrifice rationale and ethics at the altar of expediency. They can do this with impunity because it requires the collective action on part of the society to reject them and these divisive tactics that they employ. But aware minority in the country have either been brainwashed on a diet of pseudo-secularism or other crap or else are unable to influence the outcomes or policy in the country. The majority is bogged down by their petty prejudices to see through this. The collective action that democracy demands leaves me feeling impotent and helpless. So whats the way out? There is only the hope that slowly but surely things might improve. Whether its a fool's fantasy, time alone will tell.

A nationalist's dream :

"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"

There are occasions when I feel pessimistic and despondent and this post is a result of one such occasion. But I wonder....