India
is a country of rich cultural heritage with different
colours, religions, languages, castes and way of life.
But there is always unity in diversity. We have fought
unitedly against the British rule under the Leadership
of Mahatma Gandhi. Our spirit of unity got us Independence.
The same spirit is needed for the continuous growth and
welfare of the Nation. Only when there is peace, we can
develop into a great Nation. So National Integration is
essential forever. Integrity of a nation is vital for
its security and prosperity. India is a country of diversity.
To achieve unity in diversity was the major challenge
that the nation builder had to face soon after Independence.
The British left the sub-continent by cutting it into
two and thereby creating two Countries, India and Pakistan.
Pakistan became religious state whereas India chose to
remain Secular. There was several princely States, which
refused to join the Indian Union. It was hard task to
bring them together under the Indian Union, the first
step towards Nation Integration.
India comprises
people belonging to different beliefs, races, religions
and languages. Unless a cultural integration among these
different sections of people takes place, unless every
Indian considers himself an Indian first, the integration
of India is incomplete.
The Country is now at cross roads. The
values we have stood for, the beliefs we have cherished and the ideals we have held dear,
are crumbling fast. But nothing - no new edifice - seems to come up in their places.
The path
of progress seems long and unending. At every step hurdles
block the progress. Their size and nature are simply gigantic.
There are number of people,
below the poverty line, all crying for two square
of meals a day. They are not worried whether there is
a roof over their heads or not. They do not bother to
read or write. They are not interested how the World moves.
If there is work, they earn their meal, and if there is
none, they curse their fate, sit and doze. How many years
of hard toil will take to remove these evils of poverty
and ignorance, is only a matter of conjecture.
It is impossible
to remove poverty line unless the population is
controlled. In more than fifty years of Independence our
population has tripled. If this rate of growth is allowed,
food, fuel, water, and shelter - everything will become
a problem - a problem of life and death.
Rapid industrialisation
leads to the mushroom growth of slums, which will retard
the urban development. It also contributes to increasing
unemployment .The schools and colleges that are
supposed to produce the brain power essential to run the
Country, indeed contributes to this demoralising problem
of unemployment.
The
different pattern of education prevailing in different
States, the introduction of regional languages as the
medium of instruction coupled with reservation
policies in educational institutions, have practically
imposed a ban preventing students from one state to study
in another.
The separatist
tendencies prevalent in different parts of the Country
are a real threat to the unity of the Country. These separatist
tendencies should be nipped in the bud. Some people have
also raised their voice demanding separate nations like
the issues of Kashmiris and Sikhs. Because of these conflicts,
valuable human life and national properties are lost.
We cannot settle out disputes and problems by killing
innocent people. So we should be cautious about these
seeds of disintegration. We should try to sort out our
differences through democratic means. Unless we are able
to instill a sense of brotherhood in the minds of people
of different regions and religions, national integration
will only be a dream.
Communal clashes have become a
regular feature. Even if some thing happened in a far distant place, it echoes resound in
inland and lead to communal clashes. We know we have to live together and, if need be, die
together. But we fight on silly reasons and make mountains out of mole holes. National
languages, border adjustments, river waters, caste feeling, political philosophies
anything can become the theme of contest and confrontation.
But now and then some forces of
disintegration show their ugly faces. Sometimes people are killed due to rivalry between
members of different religions. India is a secular country. Here people are free to follow
any religion. But some politicians try to exploit people in the name of religion. We say,
we are Secular State but no body seems to understand what it really means.
The days
of suffering and sacrifice for the sake of motherland
have gone. The problem seems to be how best to divide
the booty. No rules, no scruples, all appears to be fair
here as in love and war.
Corruption,
terrorism, power politics, petty mindedness are a few
ugly heads of the dragon. We know that this dragon should
be killed, but we do not know how to and so we stand utterly
baffled.
The strength of Indian culture lies in our
unity in diversity. Our people have stood as a Nation during our conflicts with China and
Pakistan. The popular story of Lion and Four Oxes tell us the importance of Unity. So let
us live as a Nation. "United We Stand; Divided We Fall".
The people as well as the Government have
to learn the lesson from the past and correct their mistakes to achieve this goal.