As our nation grooms itself for stepping into its 63rd year as a republic nation, its people should be ready and prepared for much more than celebrating. The 26th of January has relinquished its importance and is being interpreted as a day when one would get to watch the live broadcast of a very admirable parade at the country’s capital. A very few people, who call themselves ‘true Indians’ do take the pain to sing the national anthem before they could succumb themselves to the world of cinema, parks and restaurants to experience what they call ‘holiday fun’. We need to recognize this day as a day when we should spend some time to think and act for the country, even if the thought or action is nowhere near to being a path breaking one. After all, your country needs you more than anybody else.

If we make an attempt to retrospect what our country has achieved over the past decade, we do have a number of things to be proud about. India recorded the highest growth rates in the mid- 2000s, and is one of the fastest -growing economies in the world. But one can never say that India is developed. The fact that’s even more disturbing is that we have all the stuff and substance that would fetch any country its much-desired development and despite this, we still stand 119 in the HDI rankings. Is this one of those inevitable perils that every country is challenged by in its course towards its destination or is it an invincible barrier between India and progress? The answer to this, as we all hope is that it is a temporary period as a side-effect of transition from developing to developed nation and if at all it is much more than that, our country must be able to find a way out. But for our country to come out of any of these, we need much more than careless governance, low hanging 74% literacy rate, sorry disputes and illogical politics, all of which are completely connected. If there is anything that can raise our standard a step higher, we need it in our country, even if that ‘anything’ costs us boots and bashes. After what great and inspirational people like Anna Hazare have done to change the people and their minds, there is no doubt about the fact that India and Indians are ready to take on any issue that concerns us, ranging from gender discrimination to terrorism. Its just not corruption and terrorism that we have to worry about, there are other pressing issues like Child labor, rape, female killing, poverty, public health, unemployment and much more. What we see before us now is a path made clear enough for us to walk over and if the 1.21 billion people choose to walk over this path, then there is simply no dead end. Time has come for us to selectively fight the nuisance in India from the grass root level. Lets not quench our thirst with the achievements in making possible the lokpal bill, but let us give birth to a whole new system which would be actualized and carried on by us, a system which is of the people, by the people and for the people and what could be a better start that the holy republic day.

Revanth Vishnuvajhala IIK Young Contributor 10th Standard Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Kuwait