Are we really independent?Do a soul search this independence day-Part II

In this part we would try to answer the questions posed in the previous section.

Are we democratically independent? Yes we are. India enjoys theoretical democracy for the past 60 years and save for three wars with Pakistan and an odd one with China, its national security has had a good track record and unless neighboring countries force war on us we don’t see any immediate national threat.
Are we socially independent? The answer is a big and vehement NO! India of the 21’st century reeks of bygone social structure where discrimination is based on things which are not in our control like color, race, sex, caste etc. Why for heaven’s sake do us imbecile Indians continuously dig our own graves by harping over such issues? Why can’t a human be judged by his rationality, his thoughts and actions? Why we as a nation of highly educated Indians tolerate such hypocrites as Murli Manohar Joshi and Arjun Singh? Why and I ask Why have we forgotten to fight for our own cause and why have we increased our tolerance level in this duration of 60 years. Why don’t we have a modern Bose, Bhagat or Azad who can show and blaze the way to us mere mortals? Just think over it.
Are we culturally independent? Again my heart shouts a loud NO! India has been the land of diversities and glaring complexities since time immemorial. We have had the cultural influence of the Aryans, Mughals, British and a myriad others and this should have made us culturally more tolerant, but the reality is quite the opposite: we spare no chance to resort to petty mud-slinging and harsh vitriolic. We make all the right noises demeaning one cultural tradition and glorifying the other and this group include not only the illiterate but the intelligentsia of the country. We have always been poor of appreciating our own internal wealth: be it the Kama Sutra or the Kohinoor, same is the case with our varied cultural heritage. Come on, lets learn from our past mistakes and starting appreciating the kaleidoscopic culture of India.
Are we regionally independent? This has to be a bolded NO! Again our short-sightedness and our vested interest are the main culprits. People can fight for a Chattisgarh, Jharkhand and what not just to gain political brownie points! Organizations like Naxals, ULFA, Ranvir Sena, MCC etc can spread terror and hatred just for a tract of land! Have we gone down to such low moral depths so as to justify thousands of lives for some acres of non-living land? This is not what our forefathers dreamt of. We need to change the mindset and I sincerely hope and pray that this doesn’t take another 60 years.