Present India.
Commendable and Praiseworthy : --- Dr. Bibhash Chakravorty.
Thanks Roy Joseph
After the bitter and vicious electioneering, elections and everything sounding cynical and bleak, let us read some heart warming platitudes from NY Times....
THE INDIAN ELECTIONS - NEW YORK TIMES
It is truly the greatest show on Earth, an ode to a diverse & democratic ethos, where 700 million + of humanity vote, providing their small part in directing their ancient civilization into the future.
It is no less impressive when done in a neighborhood which includes de-stabilizing & violent Pakistan, China, and Burma.
It's challenges are immense, more so probably than anywhere else, particularly in development & fending off terrorism -- but considering these challenges & its neighbors, it is even more astounding that the most diverse nation on Earth, with hundreds of languages, all religions & cultures, is not only surviving, but thriving.
The nation:
Where Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism & Sikhism were born,
Which is the second largest Muslim nation on Earth;
Where Christianity has existed for 2000 years;
Where the oldest Jewish synagogues & Jewish communities have resided since the Romans burnt their 2nd temple;
Where the Dalai Lama & the Tibetan government in exile reside;
Where the Zoroastrians from Persia have thrived since being thrown out of their ancient homeland;
Where Armenians, Syrians & many others have come to live; where the Paris-based OECD said was the largest economy on Earth for 1500 of the last 2000 years, including the 2nd largest, only 200 years ago;
Where 3 Muslim Presidents have been elected,
Where a Sikh was a Prime Minister & the head of a major party a Catholic Italian woman,
Where a President was also a woman, succeeding a Muslim President who was a rocket scientist and a Revered Hero of the Nation;
Where a booming economy is lifting 40 million out of poverty each year & is expected to have the majority of its population in the middle class already, equal to the entire US population, by 2025;
Where its optimism & vibrancy is manifested in its movies, arts, economic growth & voting, despite all the incredible challenges & hardships;
Where all the great powers are vying for influence, as it itself finds its place in the world.
Where all of this is happening, is India and as greater than 1/10th of humanity gets ready to vote, it is an inspiration to the entire World.
— V Mitchell, New York, NY
Response to a friend's comment :
Ranjan Mukherjee Da, No wonder that the poor and so called uneducated farmers of India form the backbone of our country.
Shaping the country's future should be in their hands who sacrifice in order to feed billions of people both in India and abroad ! In these days of population explosion, if the same is not controlled somehow, the farmer's profession would achieve it's pinnacle of success and become highly coveted too.
Let them wield their axes and shovels and cows to plough the hard soil of greed wearing the mask of morality !!! The snob forgets but the poor remembers just as the hands that cut down trees with axes forget but the trees remember !
I was not referring to the present government when I said commendable and praiseworthy, I was referring to the culture, tradition, glorious history of the Indian democracy, an unique unity in diversity ! ---- Dr. Bibhash Chakravorty.