I write this after watching the several videos where the gen Y & Z fumble to answer some very simple questions (president of India, ‘President’ of MP etc) about the current political chapter of India. As the saying goes ‘Hope for the best, be prepared for the worse’, with this I’m making an assumption that the majority youth today is unaware of the current political scenario and of the history which saw many brave sons of the soil fight, bleed and die for the sake of future, to protect their motherland – to make India a better place for their kids’ and grand kids’ generations. While the textbooks we studied may have forgotten our brave ancestors, their sacrifices and glorified outsiders; its a shame that these heroes who should be the icons depicting unity of our nation are ever so easily forgotten and the wrong-doers forgiven. The heroes without whom we wouldn’t have the luxury of celebrating Independence day and many other festivals of our culture.
A lot of people (mostly millennials and youngsters in my close circles) think BJP Congress and every other party are the same.
I’m from Karnataka, we have 3 major political parties BJP, Congress and a regional party JDS. The common thing I hear from friends and family before elections is “All are same ya” or in Kannada “ Ellru kaLlare”(everyone is a thief). “It wont matter who we vote they are all going to eat away our hard earned money”.
What the millennials do not know is that most BJP leaders are from RSS. RSS is an organisation which teaches so much about patriotism and brotherhood and imbibes love for Bharat. So much that the Swayamsevaks arrive immediately where ever relief is needed be it during Tsunami, floods or earthquake.
My grandfather was in RSS, he used to tell us many stories of our freedom fighters – those lesser known freedom fighters who did not get a passing mention in our textbooks or during the I-day or R-day celebrations at School functions or their struggles to stay afloat during the Emergency.
Namaste Sada Vatsale is a melodious prayer song that has all the right words to form a deep patriotic bond to the motherland. If we keep listening to the same set of values over the years they become a part of you- It is this soft conditioning that makes a person feel attached to the motherland. The Shakha ends with the recitation of Namaste Sada Vatsale. Joining RSS and attending the Shakha is an effort in itself. You need to get up early, get ready and spend an hour of your time and get back to your routine after that. How many us would give up an hour of sleep to attend a Shakha? Not many of us would volunteer to do this, right?
When there are already well trained, disciplined and patriotic individuals why choose someone else? They already standout in their qualifications and love for the motherland tops it all.
This message is very much needed to reach youth. (Not saying that there is absolutely no corruption in RSS/BJP. There might be bad apples everywhere and that is kept under check with a leader like Modi Ji /Amit Shah Ji. But its always important to choose the lesser evil among the demons since you consider all of them to be the same.
On the other hand Congress party cadres learn about the greatness of the the Gandhi-Nehru family without acknowledging much the lakhs of other freedom fighter and patriots. The congress party and its cadres are more about empowering one family(their confidants) and the rest of us should live on the crumbs they feed.The point to note is Akshai Chin was given away to China by Nehru, border disputes with China on Arunachal Pradesh, J&K special status, and most recently the cong govt wanted to give away Siachen, Infiltration from Bangladesh for Vote bank are all some of the doings of the congress.
Would you be willing to give away a piece of your home to your neighbours? Would you wish there was someone beside you who would fight tooth and nail to help settle what is rightfully yours? When this is taken in context of India, that ‘someone’ needs to be protective and patriotic of this piece of land we call India.
Same with JDS (or other regional parties of a state), it is all about Gowda family (Kumaranna Revanna Nikhilanna Prajwalanna) and getting sentimental about the Raitas (farmers) only to gain votes. This is again very short sighted and since our nation believes in ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ you cannot just empower only the farmers through loan waivers sustainability needs to be brought in the agriculture.
So for now Modi Ji’s ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ is the only place where can see the much needed light at the end of the tunnel.
