60 years, 50 years... all the same!

I am not taking a very pessimistic view of things, but something just forces me to think in that manner. The way things are going with the independent entity that is India, I see no major difference in the celebrations that marked 50 years of Independence and the ones that are happening now, on 60 years of gaining independence.

My conscious, thoughtful self has seen both the events and the import that I get out of both is the same. The promises, challenges, demands remain the same. The same issues keep coming up, though re-packaged and re-positioned every time. Watching a panel on national TV discuss India-Pakistan relations and how cricket has linked both the nations, just gives you a feeling that nothing has changed in the decade that just passed by. There are changes in every individual's life, there are changes in how India is perceived by others, but there's no change in how Indians perceive Indians.

We assume that rural India will always remain on the periphery when majority of investments happening in India from global agencies is in that sector. We assume that Indians can be fed news when blogs have become the language that denizens are speaking increasingly. We assume that for every election, an issue can be created, cultured and raised, when the futility of it all is known. We assume that carrots can be dangled to the electorate before seeking votes when the anti-incumbency factors in the country are at play to the maximum extent ever.

and we assume that celebrating every 10 years would make us believe that we are progressing, when the same concept reminds you of the last such celebration.