I was never a good History student, Indian history was never my stuff. But the questions about Indian culture,Indian religion,Indian ethics in this foreign land (Turkey) has forced me to know about it, to know about the reason behind the condition of India- MY INDIA..my country!!
We are not developed yet, we have many poor people in our country,people use their hands while eating which is not much hygienic, women are still fighting somewhere for their status, rural areas does not have power,proper education etc etc..
The only word which has compelled me to write this blog post is "WHY??"..why is it all like that.
As pointed out by Madhyama (one of my very darling and sincere readers)..I was pointing out a negative aspect of India which could hamper the image of my country...but I proudly stick to what we are. Now am I proud of all the bad points I mentioned about Indians in my previous post "The Turkish Hindistan"?? No, I am proud of the changes we Indians have brought since our independence.
Friends (especially my Non-Indian buddies)lets take a look over Indian History-
*RULING POWER-Britishers ruled India for 89 years from 1858 to 1947. And in this period India experienced some of the worst famines ever recorded.
*INDEPENDENCE- India was independent in 1947 but along the desire of independence, tensions between Hindu and Muslims had also been developing over the years. Following the controversial division of pre-partition Punjab and Bengal, rioting broke out between Sikhs,Muslims and Hindus in these provinces which spread to several other parts of India.
Unlike many nations (like Turkey) we had been slaved for years and years, seeds of religious discrimination were sought in us during the British Raj,British killed the Indian artisan, they created the Indian landless laborer, they exported our full employment and they invented our poverty,a significant fact which stands out is that those parts of India which have been longest under British rule are the poorest today. They divided and ruled!
RELIGIOUS CULTURE- India is a religious country because again in history we were under Vedic period for 1000 BCE. Religion plays a major role in the Indian way of life. Rituals, worship, and other religious activities are very prominent in an individual's daily life; it is also a principal organiser of social life. The degree of religiosity varies among individuals; in recent decades, religious orthodoxy and observances have become less common in Indian society, particularly among young urban-dwellers.
DIET- Dietary habits are significantly influenced by religion. Almost one-third of Indians practise vegetarianism; it came to prominence during the rule of Ashoka, a promoter of Buddhism.
POLITICS-Religious ideology, particularly that expressed by the Hindutva movement, has strongly influenced Indian politics in the last quarter of the 20th century. Many of the elements underlying India's casteism and communalism originated during the rule of the British Raj.Communal conflicts have periodically plagued India since it became independent in 1947. The roots of such strife lie largely in the underlying tensions between sections of its majority Hindu and minority Muslim communities, which emerged under the Raj and during the bloody Partition of India. Such conflict also stems from the competing ideologies of Hindu nationalism versus Islamic fundamentalism and Islamism.
WOMEN-medieval period when Sati, child marriages and a ban on widow remarriages became part of social life in India. The Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent brought the purdah practice in the Indian society. Among the Rajputs of Rajasthan, the Jauhar was practised. In some parts of India, the Devadasis or the temple women were sexually exploited.
JUST ONE QUESTION to the Non-Indians who compare India with other developed nations and return a inferior look to us- WAS YOUR COUNTRY's HISTORY LIKE THIS?
No friends it wasn't. Time was the factor, you all got more time to progress in every field than us. You got may be 50 more years than us.
"INDIAN HISTORY" is the root cause.
But time has changed we all (countries) are friends now. By each others support we all are progressing. No one can be self sufficient, we are walking hands in hands and Inshaallah we all will raise to apex one day!!
The PRESENT SCENARIO- As the time is heading India is setting liberal towards religious beliefs(actually some are tough to follow), women have already got a status equal to men except in villages due to illiteracy, we are technologically sound now, we have a strong educational system whose roots are spreading to villages very fast, we have 2 Indians in the top 5 richest person of the world, we have one of the seven wonders of the world, Indians constitute 36% of the Scientist team of NASA,U.S.A., we have industries of nearly all domains, Government is making the citizens aware of dangers of increasing population, we are carrying great research works for Green Peace.
We are in a phase of Renovating INDIA.
I am proud to belong to a country which has richest religion aspects, which has the maximum number of languages, which had a women Prime Minister for an aggregate period of fifteen years and thats the world's longest serving woman Prime Minister, which has the fourth largest economy, which has one of the seven wonders of the world, where we live with our parents even when we become parents, which has love in its soil.....I belong to INDIA..the INCREDIBLE INDIA!!!!!
We have the confidence we will make INDIA soon to a developed nation where all people will be employed in jobs, which will be cleaner, where people will be more hygienic, where politicians will not be playing with people's religious emotions, where people will be aware that religious grounds are not important for a country's growth, where people will love each other with more affection where the unaffected Indian Culture will be a role model for the world.
God bless my INDIA.. :)