Editor,
With our Independence Day rapidly approaching, this time of the year naturally calls for both celebration and deep national reflection.
While we rightly remember the struggles against British exploitation, I believe it is equally vital for today’s citizens to critically evaluate the systemic issues, corruption, and social divisions currently plaguing our democratic institutions.
There is no denying that the British exploited India, subjecting its people to unthinkable misery and hardship. However, a bitter truth often ignored is that their economic exploitation – which largely targeted the wealth of royal treasuries and local rulers – pales in comparison to the systemic and pervasive looting orchestrated by today’s corrupt politicians and bureaucrats.
The British ruled with an iron fist; yet the infrastructure they left behind speaks volumes about a commitment to quality. They built bridges that still stand strong a century later, laid the foundations of our immense railway network, and constructed roads meant to last decades. Even if these developments were primarily for their own administrative and commercial expansion, they inadvertently forged the geographical boundaries that unite today’s 28 states and 8 union territories. Furthermore, the education system they introduced was grounded in a standard of quality that is sorely lacking in many of our public institutions today.
Paradoxically, their cruel rule served as the anvil upon which a united India was forged.
This is by no means an attempt to justify the horrors of colonialism. Rather, it is a painful reflection on our current democratic system. When we hold a mirror to today’s governance, the comparison is deeply unsettling.
While the British inadvertently united the subcontinent, today’s politicians are actively fracturing it. Thousands of crores of public money are poured into development projects that wash away with the first monsoon rains. An unholy nexus of politicians and bureaucrats enjoys absolute power, exploiting national resources with complete impunity.
Meanwhile, our foundational institutions are buckling under the weight of inefficiency. The judiciary is overwhelmed by millions of pending cases, delaying justice to the point of denying it. Basic human necessities – quality education, medical care, and legal aid – have become exorbitantly expensive and out of reach for the common citizen.
Most devastatingly, political forces have dropped a metaphorical atom bomb on our social fabric, successfully dividing Indians along religious lines for electoral gains. If we remain fractured by faith and exploited by those in power, our hard-won independence loses its meaning. As we stand divided, one cannot help but feel that only a massive awakening of the public conscience – or perhaps god himself – can save the India we once fought so hard to build.
Jai Hind!
Musa Bhai
