Title: India: Reason to be proud of!! Content: I go to German language classes 5 days a week In Frankfurt (Germany). My classmates there come from different countries: Syria, Tunisia, Morocco, Yemen, Russia, China, Ukraine, Cameron etc. Most of the time during discussions in the class, we end up discussing politics, terrorism and internal civil wars. Two days back, someone said Iraq’s condition was much better under Saddam Hussain’s regime than it is now. His argument was because of diversity in the country as there are Shias, Sunnis, Kurds there. So it needed some kind of a dictator to keep these groups under check and control. Similar was the point of view from Russians, giving examples of how the erstwhile Soviet Union disintegrated because of different cultures and ethnicities of its member states. It was even said that China will disintegrate if there is no check on people’s rights there by the ruling party. Cultural Diversity? Ethnic differences? Different languages, religions? Well, my country has 122 major languages (22 official), most of them totally different from each other. We have around 900 Million Hindus, 177 million Muslims (Shias + Sunnis, more than many of these civil war affected countries combined), 24 Million Christians, 20 Million Sikhs and also Buddhists, Jains. When people talk about diversity in their countries as a reason for conflicts, we Indians get curious and introspect. We still stand as united and strong as ever despite of such cultural, ethnical and linguistic differences within. We do not require communism and dictatorship to unite us, to keep us under control. We do not blame western powers for our own failures. We still stand as an example for each and every country that how a large and diverse country can not only survive but also thrive with democracy, with freedom of religion, with freedom of media. It is funny how sometimes even the people from our neighborhoods (P + B) like to introduce themselves as Indians. In a foreign land, every day my country gives me a new reason to feel proud of it. When we are in India, we say that India exists because we exist. In a foreign country, I have realized I exist because India exists. Happy Republic day to each and every Indian. P.S: The figures quoted above may not be 100% correct. - mailed by Manurag Sambyal
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 03:28:01 +0000
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