India struggled through various wars of succession and overthrow of dynasty after dynasty before the intrepid British took a hand in the guise of assisting the weak and greedy kings and emperors, and took control of this great nation which has always prided itself in having “Unity in Diversity”. Th invasions of Central Asian kingdoms took their toll-- and the already existing Diversity , increased a hundred-fold! What was left of a dream of a united India, fell to the hands of the self-professed leaders of diverse religions-- the Brahmins, the Mullahs, the Priests. And the most deadly and dangerous of them all-- the Politicians!
The British ruled with a hand of steel, sometimes in a velvet glove, sometimes with the gloves off. When the movement towards attaining independence arose, with committed leaders at the helm of the movement- the division in society spread its wings and resulted in the formation of two main political powers-- the Congress and the Muslim League. What our forefathers thought, or what was their dream or vision of an India 50-60 years hence, will always remain a mystery. The day of Independence dawned at along last, and while waving a fond farewell to the last of our British rulers, we also waved a final goodbye to all hopes of achieving a United India!
Maybe, had our leaders taken a leaf out of the administrative policies of the age-old empires of Ashoka or Lodhis, Mughals, etc. --- they would have divided the country into provinces-- according to areas, not languages or religions. We would then have had Eastern,Western, Central, Northern and Southern India. Instead of Punjabis in Punjab, Haryanavis in Haryana, Bengalis in Bengal, etc etc etc. , there would have been people of all religions, languages, cultures and castes, living in the same geographical areas in harmony and mutual respect and tolerance.
Maybe the psyche of all politicians has been and will always remain to be the same-- total control-- so what if we call it an Anarchy, a Democracy or a Dictatorship?? Their methods remain the same!
Think and see what actually has changed in these glorious six decades plus of breathing the air of Freedom! Zilch! Nothing!
Today too our chosen leaders are using the very same policy-- Divide & Rule!! The political parties use caste, religion, language and very effectively divide the citizens of our great nation. Their agendas include or rather, base their policies on caste and creed diversities, thus sowing the seeds of dissension, hatred and intolerance, very ably abetted by the religious heads of each religion. We have become experts at pointing the finger of blame at each other, and working in every imaginable way to create a shattered India. And our esteemed leaders are the root cause of this. Many other problems do contribute , like an up-the-gum-tree education system, which serves ti produce 99.99- percenter morons, with no communication skills, and no thought beyond their own personal brilliant careers!
Yes, there is some sense to our existing system. Some committed liberal leaders. But they form just a small handful and cannot do much for bringing understanding and commitment in our citizens towards our society and country as a whole.
Today, the tragedy of our great country is this Divide & Rule Policy. I wonder if we will ever find a solution to this bane of our combined futures. Let us all take a pledge this 63rd Independence Day, to STOP the politicians from dividing us. Let us BAN the parties with caste-based agendas who openly sow the seeds of HATE. Let us think beyond being Brahmins, Scs/ Sts, Gujjars, Jats, Bengalis, Maharashtans, Punjabis, Keralites.Let us try to become what we were all born as --- INDIANS!
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[This article was published in the Meerut Plus edition of the Times of India.]
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