You see a fat lady wobbling down the street and giggle about how fat she is and how ridiculous she looks, without for once thinking that she might be an obesity patient, which by the way is a serious thing. You look at the boy who could not pass his exam after a record of good results and start ridiculing him. Maybe you should first find out why he failed his exam. Maybe there was a genuine reason to it. So, you see, finding fault with others does not really need much thought to do it.

And exactly the same happens when it comes to criticising our very own nation. Go out into a public street and if it turns out to be dirty, you can hear distinct shouts from almost everyone about how dirty the street is and how no one bats an eyelid regarding the cleanliness of the roads. And that comment entails the bigger comment on how India will never develop due to such sad of affairs in every corner of the state. 

One look at the poor educational and economic infrastructure of our country compels us to start blaming Indian politics, politicians and the country itself. Our society today has reached a general conclusion that whatever bad is happening today is the fault of our country, India. Isn’t it foolish to say that, without even thinking for a second, that we ourselves are the Indians? India is simply a name given to our motherland, a piece of geographical land. 

We make up the country. We form the government. We choose the politicians. The civil servants are from within us. There is no difference between India and Indians. We must understand that. When we criticise or praise India, it all goes to the Indians, to us, the people. 

No one is ready to accept the clearly visible fact that we ourselves are responsible for every bit of disrespect that our motherland receives. We comment on all the wrong things happening around us. But have we done anything to change it? We certify India as a backward country in comparison to other countries but never do we speak of our own dishonesty, misbehavior and negligence. Have we, for once, realized that it is the fault of the people? A piece of soil cannot become disreputable or backward by itself. It is the people who tread on the soil that are accountable for its growth and development. 

Today almost everyone is on social networking sites. We are so excited to share a sarcastic post regarding the lowly status of the country, regarding the corrupted politicians. Well frankly speaking, what about the actual duties that our own country expects from us? A country develops when its people become responsible and have a sense of duty towards the nation, not by condemning the state of affairs. Most people belonging to developed countries are cautious not to do anything that could defame their country. What are the Indians doing? Throwing waste products on the road, spitting and smoking in public places, carving on monuments, and destroying the national heritage.

The shameful paradox is that the same people are talking big about the country’s development, clicking their tongues and lamenting about what a poor country they are living in and pointing their fingers directly at the politicians.  One little reminder for those people – India is a democracy where ‘we the people of India’ elect and form the government from ourselves. So, maybe once we start considering ourselves responsible for the garbage lying around, for the smell of corruption in the air, we could build a better India.    

We talk about the backward position of our country when it comes to educational, infrastructure. Yet we brilliantly forget that we are the ones who dream of excelling in academics, going abroad and settling down. We are the ones who dream of getting a job in companies like Microsoft and Google. That, my friends, is brain drain and we are responsible for it. We desperately want our country to develop so that we never have to be called the residents of a backward country. And yet, ironically enough, we dream of contributing all our intelligence to already developed countries. 

So instead of discussing how the condition of India is worsening, it is imperative that we talk about how to alleviate the problems of our nation and how to erase the blotches from our country’s face. To build a better India we have to act like honest architects and as efficiently as possible to wipe out the wrongs of our society. We must do whatever is possible on our part. We cannot wait for others to agree with us and then start a campaign of some sort. Unless someone steps forward with utmost determination, development will not happen and we will return to square one, with only our big mouths to disparage it. 

Kudos to all the people who realize the actual truth and work for the country’s betterment instead of simply talking! And to all the others – criticise yourselves, not India.

Farhana Tasneem, Ex-St. Xavier’s School, Burdwan.

Subhrajyoti Biswas, Class XI, St. Joseph and Mary’s School.

Oindrila Gupta, Class XI, St. Joseph and Mary’s School.