I have a dream

It was fascinating and exciting to watch Barrack Obama take oath as the 44th President of United states yesterday evening. It was a well organized inauguration and impressive. Impressive not because of the grandeur of the event or history being created with the first black President being sworn in but because of the hysteria, hope and belief President Obama has created - not just amongst Americans but the whole world.


When he spoke, "We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America", it must have inspired millions of Americans take that one extra step, one extra effort to reach the goal. More than 2 million people braving the freezing temperatures chanting Obama Obama was for real. It must have come naturally to the people present there as they see hope in their leader specially during these low times.



When was the last time we felt the same in India? I dont recollect a single moment in my life. Since the last thirty years that I can recollect from my memory - I dont remember any leader in this country who has created so much hope and awe. Yes, in history we have. Gandhijis Non Cooperation movement, Netajis call of " Give me blood and I will give you freedom", Indias first Prime Minister Nehruji's independence speech "At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom" India's Second Prime Minister Shastrijis call of " Jai Jawan, Jai Kishan" during the 1965 war with Pakistan are some moments in Indian history which must have inspired all Indians.



Where has all that gone now? Why don't our leaders inspire us any more? There must be many reasons because of which our leadership has deteriorated over the years - castism, corruption, lack of education etc but I feel one of the major reasons could be the age of our leaders. For a country with more than 2/3rd of population below the age of 35 - the Prime Minister and President are above 75. The leader of opposition is above 75 and two members of his party are fighting for the post, in case the party comes to power are above 80. Major cabinet ministers are senior citizens. There is an age limit in almost all jobs. We start questioning Saurav Ganguly for his age despite him scoring the highest run in the year. Why dont we have the same rules for our politicians and leaders?



I am no Martin Luthar King but I also have a dream. Dream of being inspired by a dynamic leader, dream of living in a just society and corruption free country. Where people fear and abide law and don’t buy it. A place where there is no discrimination based on caste, creed and religion. A " SONE KI CHIDIYA" . Love you India.