Patriotism, Democracy et al

The inspiration for this post comes from a bike ride to the French Border..For those who are phewing at this blog, and before u think am bluffing, am not. France is barely 6-7-8 kms from where I stay..and when I am in a mood to, I go watch the airplanes take off from Basel airport from near the French-Swiss border- I was amazed to learn that this airport is shared by France and Switzerland and Germany too. It's called the Euro-airport and is officially called the "Basel-Mulhouse" airport- Mulhouse being the French city.

Sitting there this morning admist rain drops, I was thinking if I will ever ever be able to do it back in our country. Especially with BBC covering the people v.s police clashes in Indian administered Kashmir, thousands of thoughts crossed my mind.. In the first place, why do we wage wars for a piece of land causing bloodshed for almost sixty years now, and still there's not an iota of peace to be seen on the radar. If u think, I am not a patriotic person, I leave it to you to judge me cos I am still about to find the definition of patriotism myself!

When in school, I used to sing the National Anthem each morning and participated whole-heartedly in the Independence Day and Republic day celebrations and I thought I was patriotic. The next step towards it was almost wanting to be in the armed forces until I saw how disastrous I was in karate school and almost decided not to even think about it..But as a teenager and then as an adult, have never really given it a thought as such. What is it to be patriotic? Is it attending flag-hoisting ceremonies at school and college and hearing ur prime minister talk about the laurels the country and its citizens have achieved in the past year? Or is it working yourselves in your limited role to do your bit to the country and the citizens? Are people who serve the armed forces any more patriotic than the professionals and the scientists who create ideas and things to make the country prominent on the world map? Yes, with due respect to the people whose life is at stake each moment they guard the border and kudos to the family members who are ever willing to make such a sacrifice to ensure that the enemy country doesn't harm the country and the civilians.. but ever wondered the enemy camp also has human beings and these people have families too? at the cost of a pointless debate, am wondering the fundamentals behind wars! Who is eventually a winner? Obviously the country that wins the war- But at what cost? Is it still the "winner" considering the fact that equal number of people lost their lives and further taking into consideration the fact that what they've reached at is just a temporary arrangement and that sooner or later, the so-called "enemy camp" will be back to claim what they think is their's! Isn't this the basis for the war on Kashmir, the two nations have been fighting for decades now?

Kashmir- a part of the country we learnt as kids to be the crown of our country.. a place which if opened up for tourism could be one of the most popular tourists spots for Indians and foreigners alike..but what have we made of the land and of the people there? They are mere puppets of the foreign policies that change with every season if not with every general election in each of these countries (of course one of them doesn't believe in democracy the way the other does!)

This further brings us to the question.. what is democracy? Please don't bring me to Lincoln's definition with "of, by and for the people".. Ever wondered why we pride ourselves in being a part of "the biggest democracy" in the world? Do we really have some liberties other countries don't? Think again may be not! Like with other things, may be it's the sheer size that puts us on top of these things.. peer within, and you know all's not well! In the same breath, I do agree we are a little better off than most of our neighbors- three of them torn in civil wars, one of them under a tyrant's rule..but we really have not too much to boast about.

It's sheer luck and the grace of the Almighty and time that we have three respectable individuals leading the country- the prime minister, the president and the finance minister.. but should fate take an ugly turn, we could be in equally unsafe hands..would we be able to do much? Probably not.. Think about it..How many of us actually vote? Further still, how many of us made an educated choice when we vote? Do we really know these people or understand what they stand for? What policies the person will support, what changes s/he will bring to the table? In a country where most of the members of the upper house and the lower house of the parliament are famous film stars of yesteryears or are rich landlords or farmers (not undermining any of their abilities), am really wondering how many years/ decades it will take for us to break these chains of eternal corruption..

Taking u further..Democracy should give u a right to vote over things that affect you..Do we really get any such chance? At least I wasn't asked before the ground near my house was turned into a massive, ugly shopping mall! I surely didn't get to exercise my choice when they increased the quota cadre (now that's another debate altogether!).. A true democracy would be an absolute democracy where people get to vote over matters that affect them.. matters in their day to day life..like people in Switzerland, they vote on matters ranging from whether they wish to be a part of the EU to whether to extend the shopping hours/timings - whether to keep shops open on Sundays! I agree this might be a death knell in a country where 60% of the population lives below poverty line and is barely educated to understand the good from the bad.. but at least they have a choice! Well, not to forget the dangers choice brings along with it!
Actually, am confused..am failing in my own argument..which one is better? But one thing I know, we could do much better than we currently are..just by priding ourselves with past glory won't take us a long way! Just cos the world still seems to revere Mahatma Gandhi and we happen to be his birth place doesn't make us the natural keepers of democracy..especially, India and China, today are being watched very closely, almost microscopically..it's high time we realize how seriously the world take us! We must increase the bar- in turn our tolerance levels!

The government cannot expect us to be traveling on potholes (oops I meant roads) when we shell out 33% of each rupee we earn through our education and through our efforts! For one, my blood boils when my father has to "grease someone's palm" to make him do what he is in the first place appointed for- when all my dad wants is to build a house with his hard-earned money.. why? Why must I pay extra to expedite things? Why can't someone work those 8.5 hours s/he is supposed to work? Why must I wait like a beggar while he is happily chatting over tea discussing the problems he has with his in-laws! the list of woes doesn't end here..

But thankfully the blog does! Don't know why but sometimes it feels like the dream shouldn't be a short-lived one.. it is the efforts of millions of people that our country is finally gaining importance on the global front! But with our "chalta hai" attitude..am scared it will be a touch and go situation..u name it and we are okay with it! Why? Why can't we take life seriously and put our foot down when it comes to the things we deserve? Why can't we claim our rights without having to fear the worst? Then why still are we the biggest democracy? Isn't that a joke? Oh we are a democracy, of course we are.. So when was the last time you voted? Oh I don't really care you know.. all the politicians are crooks, so it doesn't matter which of them gets elected? Ahh sure, you are a democracy- with less than 40-50% of the educated people voting (now this is not self-created, but was a news article some months ago!) we sure are going places and will continue to!

Okie, am done for the day! Will go back to my inherited indifferent state..will enjoy the weekend and will go back to work on Monday and think about how to "better things at work" when in turn things remain the way they are back home..