The Great Indian Dream - Move! comin thru!!!

32,87,263.

It’s not just a random number. It’s a patch of land. A patch of geography. A patch of history.

It’s a patch colours. A patch of growth. A patch of disparity and unity.

A patch of freedom. Of democracy. Of the corrupted and the clean. Of dreams and despair. A patch that grew from change. That celebrated prosperity as much as it endured the blood of its children. A land that fell with every rise only to rise again and higher.

WE are a patch of land that worshipped eight planets (other than the Earth) long before the telescope was invented. A people that had a well-established school system before schools were conceptualised. A society that wrote epics long before the first novel was written. A literature that explains concepts of medicine and prayer with equal fervour. A culture that revelled in physical love as much as it revered platonic love.

A land that saw migrations and invasions. That served foreigners who eventually turned into natives. WE have been a land that endured out of choice. Then a land that fought back. Year after year, century after century. First it was foreign invaders, then critics of independence, then the label “Third World”, now the tag “Developing”.

A country that served foreign rule for almost 500 years is turning 60 this year.
And how!
For a young country, she’s grown at a whopping 9.2% per annum (compared to: China: 11.9; US: 2.9; average annual, recorded second quarter of 2006-07). She’s earned about 2.3 million crores and saved around 32% of its gross earning. Experts say she is the fourth largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity. And the government says the inflation rate has come down to 4.2 from 6.3%.
The stock market’s shooting up, so is the property market. Our forex reserves are at a record high. Balance of payments is favourable too (bole toh vapas karne ka dollars kam aur kharrch karne ka zyada hai).

The arts and entertainment and the I.T. industries are doing wonders. The education sector is booming. Quotas and reservations are progressing at dizzying rates. I wont indulge in its statistics now. And we are progressing fast in science, medicine, nuclear science, corruption and red-tapeism, length of undertrial periods and breaking into media offices to fight against freedom of speech. Not to mention the state the infrastructure is in.

What a ride it’s been! (That’s what the previous generations say; I wasn’t around for 60 years). But for the last 20 odd years that I’ve been around, there’s no denying the change we’ve gone through. From red-mud roads to paved ones. And cycles that had a registration number, to cars that run on electricity. From leaders that were Oxford scholars to ones that are ‘Ox’ and ‘Ford’ scholars. I read the other day that we are the fourth (I believe) largest user of solar and wind energy in the industrial sector today.
Phew! What a heady mix! But that’s India for you. It’s a highly potent cocktail that everyone wants a swig of. Suddenly, Brand India is selling like hot cakes.

So, considering that we’ve been on our own for only 60 years after 500 years of holding onto other people’s fingers, I think we’ve learnt to walk pretty quickly. And from the way things are at the moment, looks like we’re dying to show everyone how fast we can run. I wish the government would build better roads though. All the faster to run with my dear.

So we wont enter our 60th year with bated breath. That’s because we aren’t afraid of change. We know exactly what we’re doing and exactly where we want to go.

So cheers to all the Indians out there! Happy Independence Day!! Jaya he!!!

Note: Statistics may not be accurate cos I didn't get the time to do substantial research. I was busy preparing myself to contribue to the economy!