Abstract
India is the largest democracy in the world, with that the largest diverse nation too. It has 1600 languages and 29 different states and 7 different Union territories. These are drawn on merely pen and paper, but in reality the states are divided but the people living in them are united. Unity gives strength to the state and a positive vibe across the people of the country. Prosperity brings unity and vice versa. The Constitution of India is the primary book of all the laws in India and none of the law can be over it. Dr. BR Ambedkar who is also called the architect of the Constitution drafted propositions in the Constitution which make out country united both during the time of peace and during the time of war.
India has always been a part and parcel of crimes committed by foreign actors or by the actors in the state itself. The most recent ones are the 26/11 and the Delhi Gang rape case, which changed the scenario of the country. The 26/11 Mumbai attacks, proved tolerance and patience and showed the integration of unity and tolerance India can have. People were killed in the city of Mumbai but prayers were said all over India for the culprits to be punished.
The Delhi gang rape was no less. The young girl with a new vision and new dreams came to Delhi to pursue her studies but was brutally raped and eventually she lost her life. After this, things happened which had never happened before in the history of India, and the events that compelled and made people understand to ‘be with Beti’. The protests and the uproar all over India was seen, in the protest there was no intolerance based on religion. Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist all came together and raised their voices against crime and atrocities against woman. They made it clear and loud to the world that India won’t tolerate such injustice. Seeing the unity among people the government was forced to act and committees were appointed, so that a change could be brought.
If we stand together India will be one, states, cultures, religion and more are just a way of life and a paper drawn panorama. In reality, we all are the same and stand together in each and every bad situation we face and each and every good time we share. Religion is just a way of living which creates differences culturally and politically too, but the hearts of Indian’s are united which make it a Shreshth.
Ek Bharat, Shreshth Bharat
India, considered to be the land of the Gods since the prehistoric era, has seen a lot of development and advancements lately. India has always been a melting pot of stupendous paradoxes, extremes, diverse-cultures, religions, languages and the ways of living. India, Hindustan, Hind or simply Bharat has grown to be one of the biggest economy and will be bigger than the Japan and Germany in the combined four years[1], in trade, education and is the biggest democracy in the world.
Since its inception and independence India has never looked back. The partition of India, divided India and Indians were slaughtered on both sides of the border which came out to be a horrific massacre in the eyes of the people. The leaders at that time i.e. Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, Sardar Patel and Mahatma Gandhi had envisioned about a brighter India, a faster India and a growing India. Sardar Patel also played an important task reuniting the princely states which later on joined the Indian Union. This work was huge and enormous for a country that lacked basic amenities like food and shelter during that time, like poor GDP, lack of food produce, low jobs, poor rail and road connectivity throughout the country and many more. But India never stumbled and took steps in leaps. The Government to protect the plan and to ensure the growth, came out with the Planning Commission in 1955. The Planning Commission of India had emphasised on the development of roads, waterways, agriculture, education and basic amenities that the country required to develop and stand on its own knees. On the contrary, India’s first Indian Institute of Technology was set up in Kharagpur. Since, then till the 21st century, India has seen a lot of ups and downs but has progressed in every field.
The Spiritual and the moral behaviour and values of all the Indians have been same always though there are extreme differences in the social communities and the political scenario of the country. With a swarming number of 29 states and 7 union territories, India is a most politically diverse nation in the world. The unity of India isn’t effected even if the people are culturally different and are divided by 1600 languages spoken in the country. Even today a Tamilian is welcomed in a Marathi’s house, a Gujarati is welcomed in a Punjabi’s house, Hindu is a Muslim’s house. This unity is undivided and is being continued since civilisation started in this subcontinent. India is also a land of festivals, every year hundreds of different festivals are celebrated in the whole of the country starting from the Ganesh Puja in Maharashtra, Durga Puja in West Bengal, Holi in the Northern Part of India, Pongal in South India, all these festivals are celebrated with sheer pleasure and happiness. Though these festivals are just merely called as a states festival but the truth is, every member in this country happily comes and joins other festivals. This shows the unity and the rich diversity that the country possesses. A religion or a ‘dharam’ is just a way of life and a way of living, it depends on what god we follow most and try to follow the rules and principles laid down in that sect. But, though we belong to different classes or communities we believe in togetherness and warmth. Assimilation, captivation and integration have been the hall-mark of India and its culture and unity.
In the memory of our grandfathers still the 1962 war with China and the 1965 war with Pakistan are still fresh. Wars play a major role when it comes to the disuniting a country and its disintegration or the economy and the bonding in the people. Wars can actually tear apart a nation, the fresh examples being Syria and Libya where the state is almost taking its final breath. The same scenario could have been imagined with India, fortunately things didn’t tremble down the table.
“If one suffers we all suffer. Togetherness is strength, Courage”[2], this quote is true. India is a country where politics is in its nerves. No other political party will praise any virtuous task done by the other party member, with the mere fact that they are rivals. But as we say India is a world of magic and things do change when people need people in this country. History is the main witness of this phenomenon. During each emergency, when a foreign power has raised its eyes on India, India and its people have stood together and have defended their country. Political parties, children, students and each and every common man have stood up against each and every foreign threat in India, be it a terrorism attack or a war declared over the country. Indians have never left each other’s arms during the time of need and also during the prosperity of the nation, because of which our nation still survives and is moving towards a new and better generation with each sun rise. The political unity in India comes with the ladder of cultural as well as religious unities. The theories relating to the “Chakravarthya” and the “Ashmaveda Yaganas” indicates the unity in the political community and the political thought in the people of the country. This is the reason that the Indians still today maintain sovereignty, both external as well as internal unities, to maintain a powerful and a peaceful stretch of country. The elections in our country play a major role and it creates a political stare in each of the region, but the general elections happening every five years create a different stare and a unity amongst the people. In this different stare, Member of Parliaments represent each small area from where he/she is elected and they come together and discuss the various problems faced by the people in the Parliament of India.
The Constitution of India was implemented on 26th January, 1950. This book may be called as the mother book of all laws and all the laws which are made in India derive their authority from this. The Constitution of India was also derived from jurisprudence that will make people live in peace, togetherness and harmony. The Constitution was drafted by the Drafting Committee headed by the legendary scholar Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who is also called the “Chief Architect of the Indian Constitution”. Before laying down the constitution a draft was prepared in which B.R. Ambedkar prescribed single citizenship, a single judiciary and uniformity in fundamental Laws to integrate Indian society which was not only divided into caste and class, but also into regions, religions, languages, traditions and cultures. Therefore, a strong Centre was indispensable to maintain territorial integrity and administrative discipline.
A pragmatist, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar had envisioned that a social solidarity and national integration cannot be brought about if there was absence of social and the economic justice in the judicial system. He emphasised that there should be abolition of privileges and fought for the liberty and dignity of an individual and was at the same time, he was a pioneer activist when it came to the question of the unity of the nation. He wanted the laws to be such that would promote development and unity hand in hand and a balanced development. The Constitution was drafted as he versioned, the Constitution of India was made a balanced book of laws, a book that could hold a nation tight with unity and harmony both during the times of war and peace. He integrated principles like the one man’s, one value, and one man’s one vote. The Constitution of India was framed and incorporated to promote a peaceful and harmonious country.
Cities in India form a major role in development, Mumbai is one of the cities that promotes and gives maximum percentage of GDP contribution in the country. The city of dreams lights, places like, the Juhi Choppaty and the Bandra Bandstand mesmerises people and tourists who visit the great city. I still feel that when we have a New York in our own country then why do we got to foreign to shoot for Bollywood films. But there are people who cannot see happiness in the life of the people and try committing acts like the blasts of 1993. It was Friday March 12, 1993 when 13 serial blasts rocked up the city from its core. Where the blasts happened, those places were devastated and there was hue and cry all over the city. People who are also termed as ‘selfish human beings’ left all their work and came out to help the needy who were injured and carried them to hospitals. The whole city stood up as a concrete wall of help, togetherness and patience and Mumbai cried. These cries seems went untouched and the main culprit is still out of bars.
Quiet similar incidents happened again on 2008. It seemed to be a peaceful evening and India had just won an ODI match against the rival England. Sachin seemed the happiest that day and the master blasted had played a brilliant knock and pushed the team for victory. But there was very less time to rejoice. No sooner did India win the match, than a horrifying news was broadcasted across all the media reports and television news channels across the globe. Seemed to be an extremely coward and foolish act, as few men took guns and started firing at the fellow people in places like the bust Chattrapti Shivaji Railway Station, The Oberoi Hotel, The Taj Mumbai and the Nariman Point. As and when the night passed by the picture became more cleared as few terrorists ended up doing this act from Pakistan. It took three days for this gun battle to end and all the terrorists were eliminated except one, who was caught and was tried by the judiciary. A salute to the National Security Guards and the Mumbai police, for making the city breathe again. As this ended, an unimaginable mass of people erupted out of the streets in Mumbai, and people witnessed a wide spread protest and condemnations of the act from other countries. The protest spread across the sub-continent. From villages to towns and from metros to districts, people were furious and wanted justice and wanted answer from the State for this and the killing of 171 people[3] who died in a standoff between the police and 10 heavily armed Pakistani Islamic militants. This was the mood of the youth and the country that was quiet valid. Candle light marches, documentaries and the unity of the people compelled the UPA Government for actions against the host state of the attacks. This marches and the protests bearded fruits though justice was far but wasn’t denied. On 13th February 2009 Pakistan finally agreed that the terror attacks were plotted on their soil[4]. This compelled Pakistan to try the terrorists in their courts for justice. This high amount of pressure was built by the tears of the relatives of the victims who lost their lives in the 26/11 Mumbai Attacks. That day terror was crept into the eyes of the people of Mumbai and people broke down seeing the scenario of this historic city bred in extreme sorrow and sadness. The city after that never stopped and stands together against the agony of terrorism.
The above is one form of a terror that creeps in the minds of the people and destroys families and another form of a terrorism is one when an individual attacks an individual for extortion, money, rape and many more. Rape is punishable under section 375 which defines rape and section 376 which lays down the punishment for a rape crime. Though there are punishments laid down in Indian Penal Code still people rape, some due to fun, some due to mental issue or some due to mere pleasure, which destroys the lives of both the individuals.
A girl after watching movie with her friend never knew that the day wasn’t a lucky one for her and that ended her life when she boarded a bus from a colony in the national capital New Delhi, when 7 men, rather to be called ware wolves attacked the couple and raped the girl and threw her out of the bus. Later some days her life eventually ended after fighting the battle with life. The nation gave her a name ‘Nirbhaya’ which means fearless. The next day wasn’t an ordinary day for India, as there awaited a new apprising in the country. It seemed a new line will be drawn in the country and a new era will emerge, seeing the innocent people who left all their choir and came to the heart New Delhi and protested against the injustice and the atrocities conducted on women. Candle light marches, violent protests that took up lives of innocent men, and other protests were called all over the country. People got united and stood against the injustice as a concrete wall and with least patience when it came to the dignity of woman in the country. The total number of registered cases in Delhi itself for rape is 1,636 out of which 583 people were convicted and 133 cases were decided[5]. These figures maintain and reflect the slow judiciary track followed in India, and there are several number of cases that are still pending since 2012 and before. It’s said justice delayed is justice denied. I wish Indian judiciary disposes off the cases at a faster rate so that the jurisprudence and the purpose of justice isn’t disturbed at all.
The protest in the Jantar Mantar, Delhi and The Rashtra Pati Bhawan had put the government on its heels. The protests were a wakeup call for the government. From these it canvas was made clear. India stands divided from all sides, be it through states, culturally, politically, religion wise etc. But this division is just drawn on pen and paper. When the British barrister Mr. Cyril Radcliff drew the line between India and now Pakistan, little he knew about the country and the friendship and the warmth the people possess between themselves before dividing. Cyril drew the line on pen and paper which divided the nation into two, but not the hearts of the people. Indians as said earlier still stand by the people and for each other as this culture and tradition id being followed since its inception. We sometimes become greedy and selfish and put others down for self-greed, but unity also unites us which is quiet paradoxical. This unity and togetherness helps the country grow. The more the unity and self-expression the more the development, love, growth and prosperity we can see amongst people. We must remember that in this vast country of one hundred thirty crore population, non-unity will play a major role in disuniting a country and may lead to the end the human race. Hence, togetherness, unity, emotion, politics, culture are just mere ornaments that can be seen on an Indian map, and can be removed and the real unity can be seen. The states are just mere lines and divisions which makes distinction between the cultures and the states, but if we take a map and move our fingers over the map of India, do we feel any division or any line, No! This is what unity is, we are one, we can be seen divided but in reality we stand together. Facing all odds, facing all difficulties and making the great nation a Shreshth Bharat, Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat.
By: Saurav Das
References
[1] The Economic Times, Dated 16th March 2015 (http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-03-16/news/60174842_1_imf-chief-christine-lagarde-labour-force-india)
[2] Jean Bertrand Aristide
[3] The Wall Street Journal (http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/tag/2611-mumbai-attacks/)
[4] The Times of India, 13th February 2009 (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/After-79-days-Pak-admits-26/11-plotted-from-its-soil/articleshow/4117071.cms)
[5] National Crime Records Bureau
