My Hallowed Nation

As a citizen of the world's largest democracy, I should be a proud man.
But alas, I am anything but that!

59 years since India became an Independent country, and there is still no sign of growth and freedom that one would expect in a democratic country. The Constitution of India proudly proclaims the country to be a "Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic republic". However, today, the country is anything but what the constitution proclaims.

With the way India has handled Kashmir, Sovereignty is a complete misnomer, especially when it comes to the Kashmir province. By conceding a part of Kashmir to Pakistan, the Government of India clearly made mockery of the sovereignty of India over the entire Kashmir. What is more appalling than this act of cowardice is the fact that even present day Governments are trying to bargain with the Line of Control as the official India-Pak border. And if that was not insulting enough, our rogue neighbor has rebuked even that offer, and is fighting for complete control of Kashmir.

The myth about Indian Socialism was busted long ago, and the concept is not even relevant in the capitalistic India of today. Distribution of wealth is equal only among corrupt politicians and rich industrialists.

Secularism is the most abused word in Indian politics. A country that boasts of its secular credentials does not even have a uniform civil code. Despite tall claims of "No discrimination based on caste, creed, religion or sex", discrimination is so rampant that it has become a law in itself. How else do you justify the law which allows Muslims to take 4 wives because their religion allows it? Because of the minority appeasement politics that has been India's bane for the past 60 years, Muslim laws have been seamlessly integrated into our social system, thereby making religious discrimination a law in itself. If that isn't enough, the country is plagued by the outrageous concept of reservations based on caste and religion.
How then, can we call ourselves secular when the law of the land itself promotes such rampant religious discrimination?
To allow people to practise their religion is one thing. But to permit the religion to dictate the law is another thing altogether. Shouldn’t a secular government always ensure that the "State" and the "Church" are completely independent of each other?
Going by the current law, tomorrow, if I float a religion which permits rape, murder and other heinous crimes, will the law of the land spare me and my followers from legal persecution, in the name of religious freedom? They should, considering that I am only following my religion, however heinous it may be.

Finally, the Indian Democracy is also a big farce considering the government is not at all for the people. When votes are manipulated through threats and booth capturing, the government may not even be by the people. And with the kind of thugs and gang-lords who run the government, I am would be surprised if these politicians are from among the people. To add further credibility to my suspicions, the fact that our ruling party is headed by a foreigner is a sure indication that the government is not from the people.

With such a farcical system of governance, it should come as no surprise that when a television channel recently conducted a sting operation to catch the corrupt politicians accepting bribes from undercover journalists, the political parties, instead of reprimanding these tainted ministers, started accusing the media of improper and irresponsible journalism. Here is a masterpiece among some of the reactions from the top politicians of this hallowed nation.
"A person who is giving bribe is a bigger criminal than a person who is accepting the bribe. So let us arrest the journalists who offered these bribes".

Hallowed, we certainly are!