“A house divided within itself cannot stand”
Abraham Lincoln
“Bhedey ganaah vinashyanti bhinnaastu sujaya paraih
Tasmaat sanghaat yogen prayataren ganaah sada
Teshaam anyonya bhinnaastu swashaktim anuthishtataam
Nighrahah panditaih kaaryah kshipramev pradhaanatah”
“Republics are destroyed only by internal divisions among the people
Therefore a republic should always seek to maintain good relations among the people
The wise people in a Republic should crush the chiefs of the wicked persons
Who try to divide the people”
Bheeshma Pitaamah’s advice to Yudhishthir in the Shantiparva of Mahabharat, Chapters 107/108
Indians,
See how terribly divided you are on the basis of caste, religion, race, region, etc. Unless you unite you will never prosper or rise as a great nation in the comity of nations, but will remain condemned to poverty and other social evils.
There is a story of a father whose sons used to always quarrel with each other. One day he called them, and showed them several sticks, which could be easily broken separately. But when they were tied together they could not be broken even by the strongest man. This story also applies to a nation.
In India even 71 years after Independence, dalits (who constitute about 20% of our population) are usually looked down upon as inferiors by non dalits and humiliated by the latter in various ways, which dalits bitterly resent. A dalit boy marrying or falling in love with a non dalit girl is often inviting a death sentence. Our much flaunted secularism is in tatters. When a Muslim is lynched most Hindus are indifferent, and some even inwardly happy. “One terrorist less”, they think. Our country is deeply divided on the basis of caste, religion, region, race, etc.
But how to unite?
In my opinion unity among our people can only come through a historical united people’s struggle against the present system in India, and by no other means, though this people’s struggle must be led by modern minded, not reactionary, leaders.
The present struggles in India are either casteist e.g. the Patel agitation, Jat agitation etc., or religious, like the Ram Janma Bhumi agitation. The farmers agitation was no doubt above caste or religion, but it had no scientific leadership, and so fizzled out.
When will such a united people’s agitation led by modern minded leaders arise in India, who will be its leaders, what form it will take, etc is impossible to predict. But this much is certain: its beginning is approaching fast.
This is because on the one hand all state institutions in India have collapsed and become hollow and empty shells, on the other hand, the people’s distress is growing. Unemployment is rising, so is farmers distress, child malnourishment, lack of healthcare etc. Our political leaders are, with a few rare exceptions, a bunch of crooks, looters, deceivers, rogues and rascals who have no genuine love for the country but are only interested in power and pelf. So we are inexorably heading for a period of chaos, which may last 10-15 years.
But chaos cannot last forever. Nature does not like a vacuum. So some alternative to the present political and social system is bound to ultimately emerge.
The rising people’s distress (unemployment, farmers distress etc.) is bound to give rise to united people’s movements which rise above caste and religion. For instance, unemployment affects all youth, not just youth of a particular caste or religion (reservations can only benefit a miniscule number of SCs and OBCs, for there are very few jobs). Farmers of all castes are suffering, not just those of a particular caste or community.
This common distress will force people, who were hitherto divided on the basis of caste and community, to unite, for they will sooner or later realise that only unitedly can they face the huge challenges before the nation and the looming calamity. Also, it will throw up modern minded, scientific, leaders, for only they can guide the people out of the morass they are in.
In this united people’s struggle youth of different castes and communities will come into closer proximity with each other, and will stop regarding youth of other religions as enemies and shall stop regarding dalits as inferiors. In other words, in the course of their united struggle for a better life their mindsets will change. Then many youth will have inter caste and inter religious love affairs and get married, defying their casteist and communal parents. This will happen on a large scale, contributing to the breakdown of the present caste and religious disunity in the country. This process will be aided by the modern minded leaders patiently educating the masses and removing feudal and backward notions from their minds.
After victory in this united peoples struggle (which may take 10 years or so), a new patriotic govt. with modern minded selfless leaders will come into existence, and will set about rapidly industrialising the country. Such industrialisation will also aid in destruction of the remnants of feudalism like casteism and communalism which have plagued our country for centuries, for industrialisation destroys feudalism.
This is the inevitable course of the future history of India in the coming years, and the result will be creation of a powerful unified modern nation (which will include the present Pakistan and Bangladesh) in which all its citizens will be enjoying a high standard of living and decent lives.