Tum Chalo To Hindustan Chale....

The Lead India initiative (the title is their tag line) of the Times of India group is perhaps just the thing that India needed in these turbulent times. Our political system, never the most reliable and credible of alternatives, has denigrated even further to unimaginable depths. The administrative systems continue to trudge along at their own pace, unmindful of the actual needs and requirements of the nation.

And somewhere in all this, the common man, the individual is stuck. He wants change, he wants improvement in the way he leads his life. But he is unwilling to do anything about it on his own. He is content to just wipe the sweat of his brow, to complain about the sad state of affairs, and if things are really bad, then even curse and condemn the nation.

The Indian polity was never about the individual. Society always has been at the crux of everything. To say the truth, this is the case with every society, so why condemn India? I do not condemn India as much as I fault Indians for her sad plight.

We won our freedom not because the masses were behind the idea. We won it because there were individuals who felt that their lives were unbearable and that something needed to be done about it.

In the post-independence period, with its heavy emphasis on socialism, which was good in one way, I feel individualism was stifled. Society matters, but what matters more is the leadership that guides society, and that doesn't come from the mass; it comes from individuals, from single people, who have a dream, who have a will, and most of all, who have the courage to bring that vision to fruition. Our single minded attention to the public good without care or concern for the leaders who are to create that good has brought us to this stage.

And so this initiative is commendable. The video below is the official anthem of the initiative and exemplifies the angst of the Indian people, and yet tells the people, "Enough of your sighing and crying, stop your endless complaining and whining. Get up and do something about whatever it is that bothers you. Don't worry; the world will follow you if you are in the right."

So when are you doing something to change this country's perception of itself?