By Yashika Mehta:
“The cradle of human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend and the great grandmother of tradition is none other than my country India.” – Mark Twain
India, the origin of cultures of thousands of people, is the pride of each of its citizens. It’s one of the oldest civilisations in the world that has witnessed the fusion of several customs and traditions that reflect the rich culture and heritage of the country. The beauty of the monuments, the advancement in technology, the many religions in India and the grand way of celebrating festivals make it one of the most unique countries in the world.
However, along with these positive aspects, we’ve the negative ones too. India is a developing country which has faced many challenges in the past. Despite the existence of rules against poverty, illiteracy, terrorism, crimes against women, etc. Indians don’t seem to be concerned about each other at all, and therefore, they’re dragging India back. India is not threatened as much by a foreign power than it is by internal threats. India should stop worrying about how to become one of the world’s best powers and focus on solving domestic matters first to become a great nation.
At present, regardless of the hype, India is failing – India is failing to become a great nation, the nation that was dreamt of by the likes of Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Lal Bahadur Shastri. One major problem that we haven’t been able to solve is poverty. People from economically weaker backgrounds do not get access to basic necessities. We’ve become one of the poorest countries in the world. Many people don’t even get one meal per day. We’re lagging behind because many of us are illiterate, don’t receive adequate nutrition and don’t have access to a proper shelter. The condition of poverty in India hasn’t improved much even after 69 years of independence.
Corruption is a poison that has spread far and wide in the bureaucratic and political systems in the country. The main reason for the proliferation of this infectious disease is because of dishonest politicians in our country. As a soon as a politician is elected to power, they forget their duty towards their electorates and have been found in several cases, misusing the taxpayers’ money.
Indian women have fought valiantly in the freedom struggle. Even though women in India have achieved great heights, we are still somehow not independent enough. Every time, before leaving the house, an Indian woman has to think about her safety irrespective of what she’s wearing, the religion, class or caste she belongs to or the colour of her skin. A woman in India is unsafe everywhere.
These are few of the many problems that India faces today. It is of utmost important that these problems are solved first and we look beyond only after these are sorted. It is upon the young in India today to raise their voices against the many problems that we face and ensure a brighter future for the country.
_