What is India?

I have to admit it was the simplicity of the question that startled me. I was at loss of words to put in few lines the answer to this innocuous question. I believe there is no simple answer and least of all a short one. To some extent our constitution tries to answer this question and not surprisingly it is the largest constitution in the world and took so long to take shape. Is it really an important question? A critic can always say that India is just like one of the 193 countries and one of the many democratic ones and to make us happy will willingly concede that it is one of the emerging powers in the world just like china (to shorten our grin). What is the idea of India that soldiers defend on borders everyday? What is it that I, a middle class citizen working in an IT company share in common with a tribal in Jharkhand? The idea of India is closely related to what it means to being an Indian. Being a part of India is what gives identity to our lives. When I proclaim that I am Indian along with a fellow citizen, I believe that we are not just two citizens who share our homes within national boundaries and bound by a common law. It means something more than that and that is what is a source of pride. The question is highly relevant because when we try to answer it all of us are together introducing our shared identity. And that identity is the cement that binds us into a nation.

Is our country exceptional? In what manner? Yes India is an exceptional country in ways others are not. This does not mean Indian exceptionalism in a sense of vanity. What I mean is that India is living its own unique destiny. It is a country with diverse religions, languages, ethnicities, regions and yet there is a shared culture in existence wich all diversities have enriched over a millenia. India's success would provide template to not just other developing countries but to the world at large that despite diversity it is indeed possible to live with dignity as equal and to grow together in harmony. A world in which globalisation is diluting boundaries, India's success would be an answer to the worlds problems (racism is still a reality in western developed countries). So the question I began with is highly relevant and infact the most relevant question not just of our times but in times to come.

To try to answer this question is akin to discovering India. One tires to have as expansive field of view as possible and is still not satisfied that justice has been done to the question. So i thought of talking about our common achievements as a nation and our common challenges that we need to overcome as a nation. Tracing our roots to the present will give us a glimpse of India.

Oldest Civilization: Home to everyone

India kept its doors open to humanity and accepted everyone which is the reason our country is so diverse. India became home to people persecuted around the world. The Vedas were written here and when varna hierarchy based on birth became an impediment for lower castes to worship god, Buddhism and jainism were born as egalitarian religions. This prompted the reform of Hindu religion itself. The greatest emperor of this country Asoka was himself a buddhist who actively promoted it beyond the shores of the country. It is this intermingling of diverse currents that has led to creativity and reforms of religions just as it happens in science. There is a lot that a tribal community in jharkhand can teach the entire nation about forest and wildlife conservation. Another great emperor was Akbar who made it a point that his court was representative of the society he was ruling and he would host religious discussions among all major sects. Though his decision to create another religion containing the best principles of all existing religion did not materialise, it gives an insight into his way of thinking. India pioneered the decimal system and Arab scholars (notably Al Beruni) spread the idea to Arab world and Europe. India has pioneered ideas in astronomy, medical science and exchanged them with world at large over a millenia. Globalisation is not completely new thing that we started since 1991.

Largest Democracy:

26th January, 1950 was indeed momentous. We framed the common supreme law for us that was to be foundation of our shared dreams and hopes. In a country where almost 90% of the people were illiterate we codified the universal adult franchise when voting rights were not available to women in many European countries and African-American did not have voting rights in US. A country whose independence was scarred by partition, we refused to make ourselves a Hindu nation defined in terms of being opposite to Pakistan. We put our faith in the Idea of India when critics said that a country with so much diversity and illiteracy would not last until next election. So every year our common success grows larger. We have defeated cynicism with our resilience and belief.

We want to be SuperPower:

This dream is shared by many Indians including myself. We are all occupied with GDP slowdown, dollar/rupee exchange rate crisis, fiscal deficit crisis and Chinese incursions on our borders and our allegedly pathetic response. We go into national mourning when any/all of the above issues. It is our shared dream to see country climb up the ladder and be counted on global stage. Though we might differ on how to achieve it, there is no disputing the goal. There can also be no disputing that this goal can be achieved when each and every Indian is part of it. Only a fist can deliver the punch and no individual finger. So a lot that needs to be done to achieve the goal has to be done within the country (and i am aghast by the riots in Muzzafarnagar). To be a superpower, tackling poverty i.e economic development needs to be a national goal and for economic development to take place peace and harmony is a sine qua non.

Ours is a "Land of unity among diversity" like no other. When we act keeping it in mind, celebrating it, nurturing it, we are giving meaning to India and taking it forward.