BEYOND THE TRICOLOUR

With the nation gearing up for its 64th I-Day and drawing closer to that critical mark - the year 2020, I fancy myself shooting a panoramic view of the waters of this great Indian brook whose journey, on the face of it, has been laudable yet naive, carrying huge hopes and aspirations downstream. The new millennium did witness an upsurge in the endeavours of the countrymen, as also it did in the other key aspects of the country. But the questions are still lurking - "Are we really in? Have we made it LARGE?"

Putting the moot point on hold, I'd prefer to dig a bit deeper into something that we know as 'MINDSET'. An Indian mindset is just so different - too malleable, too docile, too accommodating. Now, does that put us on the risk of falling short of the finish line? No doubt, it does. And then probably, we'd end up saying, "That's how the cookie crumbles." Is that all we are upto? Well, we have been a meeker lot - willing to so something but hesitant enough not to take the bull by the horns. We can't be ruthless and claim our rights. While we continue to be so, it is an uphill task to find our feet on the global front.

It is said that Indians have come of age. But scan their hearts and you'll find the same array of thoughts and perceptions. That's because we easily turn complacent. There's little effort yet sky-high dreams. Whatever we fetch, we are used to accepting it gracefully. People who fail to achieve fall victim to 'grapes are sour' syndrome. Perhaps that's why Indians are rated as the happiest people in the world! Achievement doesn't come naturally to us. We take pride in itsy-bitsy things but shy away from the grind that is required to reach the top.

Before we start looking at the megacities and the skyscrapers, the Oscar and the Miss Universe Crown, FIFA and Wimbledon, NASA and the Ivy League, we desperately need to break free from the mindset of an Indian stereotype. We, as a nation, need to have a mind that thinks differently, the eyes that see beyond the usual and a mouth that talks the unspoken.However, it is easier said than done. Unless we stop taking ourselves for granted and decide to evolve as a unit, we have no right to perceive ourselves as the best. Only when the society allows the intellect and a 'certain' insight to thrive, can we say that we have 'ARRIVED'.