Nidhi Salgaonkar

 

A land where diversity originates, where togetherness brings joy, where the heart is bigger than the house, where hospitality is a tradition. Needless to say anything further, yes it is the golden land of India!

After years of agony and slavery under the British rule, it is the sacrifices of our great countrymen that gained India freedom. Every life sacrificed and every single drop of blood shed should be respected and commemorated by all Indians.

It’s been 75 years now that India enjoys its independence. Seventy-five glorious years of freedom and democracy, 75 years of progress and growth, 75 years of drastic changes. Truly, these 75 years have changed our nation massively and are still bringing a change with every coming day. However, I sometimes wonder ‘Is our India truly changing for the better?’

We live in a society where every day is nothing less than a battle for the women and poor. We have a caste system which is one of the most heinous divisional systems in this world. Today also we have dowry practice where those who can’t afford it suffer and those who can, brag about it. Religious riots and clashes still persist. Who doesn’t know about the dispute over a piece of land for building a temple and mosque? People have still not overcome discrimination based on religion, gender and the pointless beauty standards. The society doesn’t even give a second thought before body shaming people. One third of the nation’s population lives in poverty. We have people dying of starvation while tons of food grains are rotting in the government warehouses. Common man suffers day and night due to inflation. Over population, unemployment and under employment are major problems. The healthcare facilities are pathetic but we blame and attack the doctors and nurses when they have risked their lives in times of such deadly pandemic. Crimes, violence are growing at alarming rates. With each coming day, our country is becoming increasingly dangerous for women. Child sexual harassment is rampant and female foeticide is high. Corruption is at its peak. It is not even a crime anymore, it has become a way of life.  And we all have experienced it at some point of life. Illiteracy is shocking. Our educational system is an industry to manufacture below par graduates. Our country has quite low hygiene standards and high intensity of pollution. Deforestation rates are worrying and we are just destroying Mother Nature in the name of some projects and development.

Is this the change that we fondly speak about? Is India changing for the better?

Nevertheless, now let’s look at the other side of the coin. In these 75 years of independence, India has several achievements to its credit. India has adopted changes for the better. It has built a modern economy, remained a democracy, has become a space and nuclear power and developed a robust foreign policy.

India is making significant progress in numerous fields like IT sector, research and development, missile technology.

Even with poor health facilities during the Covid-19 pandemic, India achieved the highest recovery and the least death rates in the world because the healthcare workers gave their best to fight against the virus. Indian scientists have developed the COVID vaccine within the shortest span of time and rapid vaccination process. Isn’t India changing for the better?

In a country where gender, caste, religious discrimination is rampant, the Supreme Court decriminalised homosexuality. The LGBTQ community felt respected and protected for the first time in India.

From the launching of India’s first satellite in 1975 to ISRO being one of the world’s largest and most successful space agencies. Chandrayaan, Mars Orbital Mission, Chandrayaan 2, etc, are some of the major successful space missions by ISRO that too within a limited budget.

A country where the education system doesn’t give much importance to sports, lack of adequate facilities and training, yet secured 7 medals at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

UNESCO Global Teacher Prize 2020 winner is an Indian named Ranjitsinh Disale who brought revolution in the teaching methods by bringing entertainment along with learning.

Making energy from aloe vera, 3D printing rocket engines, building bricks and tiles from waste materials and so many more inventions sound to impossible right? But Indian start ups made these inventions possible.

Have you heard about Devendra Sura, ‘the tree man of Haryana’? On one hand we are battling deforestation and on the other this common man has planted 3 lakh trees.

Surely, India is taking one step forward for the better. I know the changes are small and slow but still we are making progress. We haven’t got rid of all the malpractices, however, India has changed a lot…we still have a long way to go.

I believe two steps forward and one step backwards, is still one step forward. We got to focus on the positive things in life and work for making India a better place. Let’s appreciate how far we’ve come as a nation and make India proud. It is the great countrymen that make a great nation. India will change for the better, only when we Indians strive to bring a change. Surely, we can and we shall change the nation for the better!

Jai Hind!

(Writer is a student at St Xavier’s College, Mapusa)