what ails and fails us and what ultimately bails us.

A country that has achieved, half of what the so called great USA has in 232 years, in just 60 yrs has nothing to be ashamed of. Till date the so called greatest democracy in the world cant bring itself to elect a leader that is either an african-american or a woman. Now, today that is exactly the predicament it is in, one of choosing between its two definitely undesirable entities, an african-american or a woman. Let me make it clear am from a country that has suppressed and destroyed the essence of womanhood for many a year but it still has managed to put forth a woman President, a woman Prime minister and umpteen women chief ministers. Whether these women deserve it or not is a different question altogether.

The country that has given me all that I have is today the trailblazer in many ways. It has a young population that is hungry to earn, preen and prove itself many times over. This young population I refer to is definitely restricted to certain pockets and is mostly intent on self-gratification but nevertheless, it does bring up the standard of life for many. The rest of the population in the same age group as these trailblazers as well as the many other freeloaders in the form of trade unions, politicians, agriculturists, small scale businessmen and NGOs do nothing but fill their coffers by exploiting this country's potential, while contributing nought to its day to day development. On top of this leech like behaviour these entities raise a huge hue & cry about being the deprived lot. If u need proof of this all u need to do is watch any channel that parades itself as a news channel and u will find a score of these entities busy criticising everything this country has except themselves and their mothers. These entities; do not pay taxes but demand good roads, save every paisa to send their sons and daughters abroad while raising a hue and cry about brain drain and finally either buy or sell the most sacred of all things that is Indian , the right to choose our leader, our vote for the price of 1/4th a bottle of Royal stag.

The disparity between those who have and those who dont is not the fault of those thousands who work in white collar IT jobs, but that of those who make every profession look cheap with pathetic facilities and abysmal wages. A country with a 1.2 billion in population and out of which 800 million is in the earning bracket has an depressing 24 million tax-payer strength. This measly 3% taxpayer strength has to fulfil the demands of the rest of the 97 % who contribute nothing, absolutely nothing to this country's growth. What a shame! and what a shameless 97% people.

Lets now come to the so called leaders of our nation. A country where more than 60% of the strength of its governing body is involved in criminal cases ranging from fraud to murder, has a lot to worry about. From the recent events in the over-hyped IT state and a state that has dedicated itself to pandering to internal and external addictions and obsessions, one can conclusively say that our politicians have found new depths to sink into. The depressing part is that neither do they regret it and nor do their supporters relinquish support. What a waste of such a population-wise young and vibrant country's present!

Enterprise is the foundation of our survival. Our people may trade in wide-ranging things such as tamarind seeds and human flesh but the aim has now improved from the yesteryear aim of survival to todays aim of middle class hedonism. If only we had the fore-sight and the self-discipline to reign ourselelves into a streamlined path we could shine for a long time.

Inspite of all these depressing and deflating Indian-ness, what finally shines through is the ability to live through adversity. Irrespective of the billion internal scuffles and acrimonious debates, any external pressure or offensive has been repelled with a solidarity and resoluteness that is seldom seen in people of similar upbringing,language or society let alone in the people of a country like India with more than 800 official languages and a million different castes and subdivisions. What is it that makes every Indian's skin pucker with goose-bumps and sends a shiver up his/her spine whenever his national spirits are stirred? Every single thread that goes into the tricolour is the representation of the courage and guts of the Indian people and their joy of living for the sake of living. It shows , when a billion throats bay and bellow from the base of their bellies whenever any foreign entitiy dares to even contemplate stepping on its breathing space. Beware, India is rising! patronise and perish, be a partner and profit.