What does a better India mean to you? I Blog by Jishnutha S. R, 12, Odisha

What does a better India mean to you?

Welcome to a somewhat better India. You may wonder why “somewhat?” Let me prove it to you. Visit a school, pick some students, and ask them to honestly answer this question: “In which country do you really want to settle?” Some of the students would choose India to settle in with pride and patriotism and say that our nation is the best. On the other hand, most of the other kids might choose countries other than India, like the USA, Canada, the UK, the Scandinavian countries, Japan, South Korea, etc. Even some of our parents want us to be NRIs. Right? Why so?

We need to introduce ourselves here. Yes, our nation is a developing country. Then why do they consider the other countries better to live in, and why not India? Here is where it gets confusing. What is the betterment that the kids seek that is not present in our nation? That is what we are going to find out in this article.

A better country is one that provides and promotes safety and security, secularism, equality, and scientific temper. A country where there is peace and harmony for the people to live in.

SAFETY AND SECURITY:

If you were asked whether you would like to live in Ukraine or Israel, what would be your answer? Of course, it is a “big no!” Why? Because it is a country of ongoing war. Even if it is a well-developed country, we are hesitant to live there because we fear for our own safety.

Safety and security are the number one priority for a country. Now, the query is, “To whom is India not safe?”.

Safety for all people, especially women and children, against violence.

Women’s harassment is common in all places. But India is in the top 10 of the most dangerous countries for women. And New Delhi, the capital of India, is considered the most unsafe city in India for women. Would any of the parents allow your daughter to travel alone on a train or bus at night? Of course not, because we would fear the safety of our daughters. This is the current condition of women in the country of India, where we call our country ‘Bharat Mata’ (Mother India).

Next is child abuse. Child abuse is very common in India, as our country is also in the top 20 on the global list of having the greatest number of child abuse cases. Child labour, trafficking, and street children should also be considered here. 

SECULARISM:

Imagine two apartments called “Apartment H for harmony” and “Apartment D for  dispute. Apartment H for Harmony consists of people of all religions. Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and Sikhs. They respect each other and celebrate Holi, Christmas, Eid, and Gurpurab together. Whereas in Apartment D for Dispute, the people quarrel over whose festival is superior and maintain the utmost distance from each other. Which apartment would you prefer to live in? We would choose apartment H for harmony, wouldn’t we? If we can be united as a community, can’t we implement similar secularism in our nation?

We, as students, are instilled with patriotism about our religion, thus losing our innocence and developing distance with people of different religions at a very young age. The friendship bonds become more and more weaker. Being kids and the future Indians, we are not given a choice of what we wish to know and don’t. We don’t want to break the unity by segregating us into different categories. If one gets too patriotic, a slight mistake by the folks of another religion would be enough to start an entire riot.

EQUALITY:

Our nation is said to be a country of “unity in diversity.” But the basis for the unity of diverse cultures is equality. One must treat others equally, irrespective of their caste or creed, as well as where they come from. Equality is the only solution for our safety and security. To be safe from caste discrimination and religious riots, secure from harassment and abuse from our society, and treat every individual like their brother or sister without any differences. We need to embrace their rituals, food, culture, tradition, place of worship, etc.

 SCIENTIFIC TEMPER:

The cherry on top is that the final step is to have a scientific temper. Every individual, especially students, must have some curiosity about science. If all of us concentrate and collaborate our knowledge together, we can make our nation soar in scientific achievements like Chandrayaan 3 by leaving all the old superstitious beliefs behind us. By cooperating, we can establish a nation with abundant technology. In this way, we can put an end to being vulnerable in front of other nations and become one of the most developed and powerful countries.

If the above four points are ensured in our nation, I would proudly say, “Our India is the best.” And if our country improves in both humanity and technology, the kids who wish to settle abroad can settle in India. Why not? Even our fellow Indians who have already settled abroad will come back to India, wouldn’t they?

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