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Whitewashing Present with Past

 

Undoubtedly, India has a glorious past and we all are proud of it. The greatest earliest civilizations of the world like the HARAPPAN CIVILISATION flourished in India. India has seen some of the greatest warriors and rulers of the world. Our idols - Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekanand are celebrated for their virtues in the entire world. Our ancient monuments and religious sites are witnesses to the blend of different cultures and religious beliefs.  Our diverse culture, rich heritage is all that make India so vibrant and beautiful. India has the longest written constitution in the world embedded with ideas of secularism, democratic and free India.  Yes, no one can deny that we had a glorious past.

But does this past solve the problems we face today? Does this past make us any better on the World hunger index today? Does this past provide employment opportunities to this youth nation? The answer is simply NO. For how long will our politicians be taking the shaft of our past to script their ever glorious and euphonious speeches?

What if I ask any one of you, “What do you love about India? ”  I am sure the most general answer will lie in Indian past with some of you mentioning about our diverse rich heritage and culture, our idols, our Vedas and so on. And this is because we as Indians are really obsessed with the past which prevents us from questioning the sorrowful state we live in today. Our leaders have painted our minds with such imagery of our past that we are just too pleased to get over it.  

We as citizens should not allow our magnificent past to confine us in an ivory tower and prevent us from recognizing our weaknesses. Jawaharlal Nehru once said, "Romanticisation of past does not solve today's problems."

 


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