India at 62

At 62, India is neither shining nor is it with Aam aadmi. A gold at Olympics is just not enough of a feel-good factor. It’s really an upbeat this Independence Day. All we can see is crowds going on a rampage everywhere, be it in the secular showpiece Jammu and Kashmir or in the Leftist heartland in Nandigram or the Gujjars in Rajasthan or the farmers in Noida or ever on stand by VHP activists.  We just do not seem to agree on anything anymore. Anything and everything can lead to agitation – crowd and chaos seems to be more important than cause. An agitation is not an agitation unless some lives are lost and greater the loss, bigger the cause. Public property is almost always the silent victim to these ‘movements’. The scenes of burnt state transport buses and blocked train tracks have replaced the black and white videos of the crowds peacefully marching towards Dandi. We have not only become an agitated nation but also a short tempered one. The angry young man has been replaced by an angry India. While the angry young man was looking for options, the angry India is looking for votes. Where is the peace-loving India?