“Pity the nation that raises not its voice, save when it walks in a funeral/boasts not except among its ruins/and will rebel not, save when its neck is laid/between the sword and the block /oasts not except among its ruins/and will rebel not save when its neck is laid/between the sword and the block.”
A remarkable poem written by Khalil Gibran which if analysed can be seen is almost similar to what is happening in the present India. “The Era of Darkness”, a recently released book by Dr. Shashi Tharoor, presents a very clear picture about how the colonial empire ruled our country and the lives of its citizen. But no one questioned him because everyone knows the reality of the colonial empire but Tharoor very rationally points out those aspects of the empire which we knew ‘has developed our country’ like railways, sub-altern schools etc. He removed the misconceptions that these were meant to develop India, rather, they were built for their own benefit. He questioned the British government and demanded them to apologise. Similarly, he questioned the present Indian government on the policies which he thought were not-so-wisely-implemented. So basically, he was not running after the limelight to be on a mainstream media spot to grab more viewers. He believes that India is the youngest nation of the present century having the age of 25 when it will reach 2030. So, being the youngest nation it is our basic right to question the government and if we see any disruption in the whole governance than to oppose them with our own skills like activism, painting, poetry, rebellious fiction writing etc. We all know that it is the most healthy thing in a developing country and even when we will be developed, the culture should prevail.
Now what is wrong with India, is that whenever a person tries to question and if that point sounds logical than like the era of darkness, the ruler makes the followers of his/her empire (which sounds democratic but cannot be seen and felt as democratic) partially blind, and tells them to manipulate the whole situation according to the comfort of the master. We all know that our nation is a very dynamic nation. It is multicultural, multilingual and multi-talented and it has been and it is still our pride. So being a ‘multi’ in every branch, a ruler cannot suppress the questioning citizen by just saying them as ‘limelight tracker’. Each and every individual has his/her own ideology. A questioning citizen of a democratic country like India just wants to be on the same stage as that of the ruler so that the government runs properly.
The present India (I am not talking of any party because everytime a party came into power it took this ruling tendency in their hand) whenever is trying to be on the track, it is slipping just because the young Indians are not getting proper opposition. A debate is seldom seen in present generation. The sole reason is that a debate requires two benches with two different mindset but with a single aim. Development. Similarly, the government requires proper opposition to run and if it runs with all the faults in his/her pocket than the questioning citizen should be given the chance without placing them in the stand where he/she will be seen as a chaos. “Universe never began without chaos. Even Earth was, and is a part where chaos lived/lives”. Intellectuals are not hard to find in a developing country because even a poor citizen BPL when grabs education in his/her hands knows the difference between right and wrong, and that is what a intellectual means.
So who is turning to be in the limelight? The questioning citizen or the suppressing government. The question is open because different minds will have different opinions.
