Patriotism Redefined !! Check where you stand.

The word patriotism has delved a new meaning in India. A meaning far behind the one,  you and I have ever known. A meaning that is actually a kind of mental sickness. A meaning that has nothing to do with country but to do with politics. It is a political interpretation of patriotism. It is dangerous, venomous and destructive. I am unable to figure out when exactly the paradigm shift occurred that secretly manipulated patriotism as love for a political party from love for ones own country.  And because the very meaning has been disturbed we get to see right people being portrayed traitor and what not. 

We are tolerant to Mr. Obama s remark on religious intolerance in India but when one among us speaks about his wife s apprehensions, we go berserk and use our facebook walls and twitter handles to malign him in every way possible. This is exactly what his ( Aamir Khan) wife was talking about the other day. By our reactions we have proved her right. By our attempts to prove her wrong we have actually proved her right. I think a word of assurance was more appropriate than to spite and scorn.

We don't fear impulsive terrorists because we believe in the integrity  and supremacy of our country. But what we fear is when our neighbors, our friends next door turn hostile and take up genocide on account of belonging to another religion or community. Enemies do not threaten us but the fear of friends becoming enemies cuts deeper than sword.  

How can someone judge your patriotism on the grounds of political alignment ? How can someone brand you a traitor just because you are not a supporter or sympathizer of a particular political party or for that matter being a supporter of a party that stands rival to yours ? 

And if you are not free to like a party that is other than the majority then the spirit of democracy itself is defeated. Why will the ruling party deliver Governance if there were no rival parties to compete ? Who will question their decisions and performance ? It will be like going to a shopping mall that has no options or varieties to choose from. And what you buy is not what you like but what you dislike the least. The new logic of proving yourself right is to make every effort to prove others wrong but sadly two wrongs don't make a right.

For ages we have called ourselves Great and we actually were. But the blabbering has gone too far and long. For a good length of time we have not done anything substantial than to self glorify ourselves which has made us to where we stand today. Owing to our fake utopia and self obsession we have stopped seeing things as real as they are ! And until and unless we see the truth we really cant fight the odds. How can you justify introduction of bullet trains when the existing railways needs an ocean of improvement and infrastructural development. How can we talk of developing new smart cities without catering for existing towns and villages that do not even have electric poles not to talk of electricity or likes ? We need to work and improve upon what we already have than to create few more new ventures of mismanagement and impracticality.   

Isn't it the time to kill our hollow egos and superficial opinions ?

It is the time to see the dark realities and bring the light of collective efforts to enlighten the scenario. It is the time to diagnose our ailments that can be disastrous and dangerous for the generation of our children ahead. It is the time to make our country a better place to live and long for. Why do we have inhibitions in accepting the dark truths about us ? Only then can we fight them ! Ignoring or closing our eyes to the problem is too much of an impractical solution to this grave issue and may be suicidal ultimately. 

Patriotism is to strive and struggle for your country to make it better than the best and not to close eyes and foolishly say "All is well " or "Where do you see the problem" or even worse " If you have problems go to Pakistan". We are a sensible lot; How can we justify patriotism with these below the belt lines ?

I urge all my wise and valuable readers to use their facebook walls and twitter handles responsibly. Don't let them to be tools of destruction and hatred. Use your own sobriety and wisdom to make conclusion from a particular incidence rather than joining the trending topics that are manipulative and inconclusive. Don't let miscreants to take advantage of your lazy and unaware judgments. Lets spread love and hope.

Jai Hind.

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