India. The northeastern states are ignored. The spirit of harmonized coexistence needs to be rekindled today. If our brothers in the Northeast feel that they are not being included in the national mainstream, the people in Kashmir too stand alienated. There is a need for reaching out to them. The linguistic fanaticism and regionalism that raises its ugly head periodically needs to be addressed by removing mutual suspicions and grievances. Mature political leadership can help a lot, but so can an enlightened citizenry.

There are constitutional guarantees that safeguard our rights. There are expectations of performance of duties. There is a need to understand that rights without obligations cannot survive for long. Like a spoilt family member who threatens to walk out on the family if his demands are not met, separatists keep on coming up with new demands with similar blackmailing tactics. Their bluff must be called promptly and dealt with ruthlessly. Yet legitimate aspirations should be met with equal zeal. A frustrated person and groups often give parochial color even to individual or stray incidents of injustice.

Last, but not the least, one must not forget the increasing economic disparity between the haves and the have-nots. Already left extremists are gaining support among the rural youth, and violence is increasing in states like Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. All of these are important states. Once the left extremists gain acceptance among the urban youth the results will be catastrophic for the entire nation. Employment avenues need to be increased. Not merely through government jobs but by increasing the scope of the private sector. This is where the educated elite has to play a prominent role. It must contribute towards the nation’s economic prosperity by devising ways and means of enhancing private enterprise. Let the well off citizens pay their taxes in full. The corporate sector must not only develop a social conscience but proactively discharge its responsibilities towards the vulnerable segments of the society. Corruption needs to be rooted out. Wasteful expenses need to be curbed. Let us act responsibly and invest our surplus resources in productive activities.

Thus forging of national integration is a process that needs to be kept firmly on course through diligence on the part of all citizens. Inputs like honesty, accountability and justice on the part of our governmental and other public functionaries can certainly help in this regard. Again the nation’s integrity is not the responsibility of the majority community alone, but also of the minorities. Time has proved that our credo of tolerance is the right way to attaining nationhood. We have eschewed spewing hatred on others as a mark of the articulation of patriotism. This is how it should always be. Finally, patriotism is something that cannot be enforced; it spontaneously oozes out of the citizens’ bosoms as a beautiful hymn sung in spontaneous, self-coordinated chorus. Flowing down from the majestic tranquility of the Himalayas, to the vibrant Indo-Gangetic plains and the rugged Deccan, the harmonized melody permeates the profound depths of the ocean surrounding the peninsula.

This was the dream that various freedom fighters as well as makers of the Republic’s constitution had dreamt. Let it not die.

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 kale gore ka bhed jahan ve rang bhed kahlate hain,par ek rang ke bharat mein ye bhed kahan se aate hain? a matter of research for the scholars.apartheid may vanish some day but would the casteism of hindus meet same fate ?

deshrajlatotra | March 25, 2010