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My Fellow
Indians |
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TO ALL MY FELLOW INDIANS
YOU say that our government is inefficient.
YOU say that our laws are too old.
YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.
YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke, the airline is the worst in the world, and mails never reach their destination.
YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute
pits.
YOU say, say and say. What do YOU do about it?
Take a person on his way to Singapore. Give him a name - YOURS.
Give him a face - YOURS.
YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best. In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the
stores. YOU are as proud of their Underground Links as they are.
You pay $5 (approx. Rs.60) to drive through Orchard road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road)between 5 PM and 8 P.M. YOU comeback to the parkinglot to punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity. In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU?
YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramzan, in Dubai. YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah. YOU would not
dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds (Rs.500) a month to, "see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else."
YOU would not dare to speed in Washington and then tell the traffic
cop, "Jaanta nahin hai main kaun hoon? (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so's son. Take your two bucks and get lost."
YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand. Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo? Why don't YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston? We are still talking of the same YOU.
YOU who can respect and confirm to a foreign system in other countries
but cannot in your own. You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground. If you can be an involved and
appreciative citizen in an alien country why cannot you be the same here in India.Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal Commissioner of Bombay Mr.Tinaikar had a point to make. "Rich people's dogs are walked on the streets to leave their affluent droppings all
over the place," hesaid. "And then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect the officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure in his bowels? In America
every dog owner has to clean up after his pet as done the job Same in Japan. Will the Indian citizen do that here?"
He's right. We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility. We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to clean up
but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stoop to pick up a stray piece of paper andthrow it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we
are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms.
We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toilettries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity. This applies even to the staff who are known not to pass on the service to the public. When it comes to burning social
issues like those related to women, dowry, girl child and others, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse?
"It's the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my sons' rights to a dowry."
So who's going to change the system? What does a system consist of? Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbours, Other households, other cities, other communities and the government.
But definitely not me and YOU. When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries
far away and wait for a Mr. Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand. Or we leave the country and run away. Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask
in their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to England. When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we
demand to be rescued and brought home by the Indian government. After a six - month holiday during which derogatory comments about India and Indians are made and sheepishly accepted, we are ready to leave for
Australia because their old age benefits and pension schemes are very lucrative. Bribery, tax evasion, unlicensed business, unethical practices, etc. has not reached the same dimensions anywhere as it has
in India, thanks to each citizen's sense of involvement with the country. Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.
Dear Indians,
The article is highly thought inducive, calls for a great deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too....I am echoing J.F.Kennedy's words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians..... "ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND NOT WHAT INDIA CAN DO FOR US"
Lets do what India needs from us.
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