My India…. I live with hope!!

Let me state upfront that I support any and every move to address the twin inter-connected evils that act as major dead-weight throttling India’s march to greatness:  Corruption and the Parallel Economy (black money).  

The country gives us an environment and enables one to generate wealth and therefore I am all for a reasonable taxation regime where a portion of the wealth generated by all individuals and entities, goes back to the Government machinery towards propelling the country forward.

It is now 70 years since our independence from a foreign regime and since then, many political parties have come and gone in the states and at the center. Many five year plans have gone by. India is surely making progress in many areas slowly and steadily. India too is chugging along slowly and promises to be a powerful economy in the coming decade. India hopefully will soon regain its erstwhile position of having been a very powerful economy. I live with a lot of hope and the coming generations in India should see far more glorious times ahead. India is also becoming a more prominent global player both politically and economically. In addition, many Indians have been groomed by this country and add their professional expertise to power the engines of many overseas economies.

However the things that disturb me are as follows:

·             Is there fairness in the taxation regime in the country? Many professions generate a lot of wealth but escape the tax regime either partially or fully. Some are exempt by the taxation system itself while some avoid / escape the tax net willfully. What needs to be done to ensure that the taxation system is fair and reasonable?

·         Is the collected tax used by the government efficiently? The reality on the ground is that as genuine and willing tax payers, we get very little from the local and central Governments in terms of infrastructure, social security etc. Is there proper efficiency in the system of tax collection as well as the way in which the collected taxes are efficiently deployed for the benefit of the country’s tax payers? Only when we see the benefits of our tax money directly benefiting the common man will there be a sense of fairness.

·         Is the system of cascading benefits downward to the needy population efficiently managed?  How much of the various benefits really trickle down and reach the real targeted population? Why does 100% not reach the genuinely deserving person? Why does the government machinery tolerate and enjoy the seepage of the downward trickle?

·         Are Indians motivated to drive India?  Why should the overseas economies still continue to be a magnet for many talented Indians? Why is that our own country not have the ability to retain all the talent that is groomed in this country? More of the talent muscle powering the Indian economy will surely manifest in a far higher velocity and acceleration of our young and promising economy

·         Why don’t we think and behave like Indians first? Why do we allow state boundaries, religious affiliations, language and caste divides etc to split our country for things as vital to life as water resources? How does the fact that water flows through a particular state entitle a state to deny the usage of the same water, a gift from nature, to the states that live downstream? Even political parties operate on the basis of their own identity and do not want to support genuine attempts and ideas originating and being implemented by other parties. Why is it that a good idea is not supported genuinely and whole heartedly by all parties irrespective of which party is driving the initiative? Why does gender, caste, creed, sexual orientation, language, state citizenship etc divide us into separate silos and why does everyone not get the same treatment as a worthy Indian? Likewise on many other aspects we still resort to thinking on the basis of our narrower identities and not thrive on the larger perspective of being Indians first!!

·         Why is the Judicial system, Policing system, Political system etc so inefficient? For fairness and justice to prevail, the judicial system has to be super efficient. Likewise the Police system should be liked and admired rather than feared and avoided. Many of us dread approaching the Police and the Judiciary for remedies to any injustice. Why is it that the Judiciary and the Police system are not the friends of the common man? Why do many of us think that Might is Right has to be endured and tolerated? Why do we enable people with dubious pasts and criminal records to become politicians? Does wearing starched white clothes after getting elected absolve them of their past and make them clean people? Why do politicians bend, grovel and behave like public servants for the few days just before getting elected and after being elected, become power hungry and depraved monsters lording over the very same public that voted them to power. Why is it, that power is not seen as a responsibility but as a privilege?  

On 26^th May 2014 Narendra Modi became our 15^th Prime Minister. Many of the above aspects are on his agenda and slowly progress is being made on many of these aspects. He is also driving a clear strategy to network with the global community and place India in its rightful position in the world. I personally sense that the country is moving forward much faster and more confidently ahead, under his leadership.

We are 1.25 billion strong today. One in every six beings on the planet is an Indian. If not all, if at least a majority of the 1.25 billion align ourselves and commit to a clear path ahead, we will make a huge difference to India and to the world at large.  We owe it to ourselves and to our next generation!!

I live with hope….. Jai Hind!!