Miles to go !

It was late evening yesterday when I drove back to Bombay after two days of break. While I was returning, the city's usual euphoric state, typical of the Independence Day had mellowed down completely. At some places on the road, I saw tiny, plastic Indian flags strewn all around precariously. A crude reminder of how we have diluted the Independence Day and its celebration to a farce!

We send prolific messages and mails apt for Independence Day, update our status on social networking sites with immense display of nationalism. It feels wonderful to see so many people taking pride and spreading the spirit of nationalism. There is absolutely no doubt that it is one of the great ways to convey our proud feelings for our nation.But how many of us really go beyond this? Do our everyday actions really convey our nationalism that we usually claim only on occasions like the Independence Day and the Republic Day?

The way we go about life every day, does it project us as responsible citizens? How many of us don't encourage corruption, bend rules or take advantage of the loopholes in the system for our personal gains? Don't we take every opportunity to evade tax and still expect the government to take care of every possible challenge that the country is facing? Do we use our natural resources judiciously? Do we ever appreciate the contribution of our soldiers who give their lives to save ours? I have endless questions in my mind and my blood starts to brew when I think on this line.

India, as nation has done phenomenally great in past six decades of its independence. We have reached a point where world can't afford to ignore us! A fantastic future is ahead of us but to achieve that we have many challenges to face. If we are so proud to be Indians, let our unflinching commitment towards our country reflect in our attitudes, in our way we treat our fellow countrymen, in our mindsets, in our way of performing our duties as citizens, in our work culture, in our every action, every possible day! Only then we can help our nation reach its true potential.

Enough of resting on our glorious past! We have had enough of rhetoric on how proud we are as Indians. It is high time to take action towards some concrete future and contribute our bit. Nationalism is not some fleeting experience. Let us ingrain it permanently in our every action if we are indeed patriotic! There are miles to go... Jai Hind!