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An attempt to do better: Do Read and Read in leisure only

Why must a citizen’s patriotism be measured by his ability to sacrifice something for his country, or simply by the knowledge he has about the history and current affairs of the country? Just by being aware that x no. of people died during a bomb blast or y no. of people died during a fly-over fall doesn’t make a citizen eligible to be called a patriot, does it? Knowledge but no action is of no use!

In schools, children are taught about the checkered past of India and the blood and gore with the precise dates and times of each event, but no logical conclusion of why it happened or what could have been done to avoid it is not discussed. What is the purpose of such a teaching, which is anyway forgotten once the kids grow up? These subjects are just by-hearted from the G.K. books to pass in competitive exams without understanding the significance.

Even today, the people just blame the government or the corrupt politicians for any mishap and then erase it all from their minds as if it isn’t their head ache. Is this is all the responsibility we have as citizens? “It’s not my problem”. “What the hell is the government for?”. “I have done my job correctly. What can I do it the others don’t comply?”. These are the common comments we hear, most of them filled with the ego word “I”. We must remember that India is OUR country. Every move that we make does effect our country in some way. We aren’t insignificant. Oceans are formed only when drops unite. We must TAKE responsibility for our actions and OTHERS too. The blame game will go on for ever until we realize our mistake.

“What can I do?” First things first, do what you do for yourself/country and not to show it to someone. The feeling of patriotism must come from within. For starters, we can do the following which done collectively will definitely impact.

1. Obey traffic rules. Stop at a red even if there is no traffic from any end.
2. Respect the space of others on the road. If you are in a hurry, so are the others.
3. Wear your seat belts/helmets. Follow safety rules for our own well-being. There is some one waiting back at home.
4. Don’t honk unnecessarily irritating the person in the front. Peace of mind eases the flow of traffic.
5. Maximize the use of eco-friendly articles. Say NO to plastic.
6. Don’t encourage begging, especially children. They will think this to be the easiest way to survive. If you can, leave the children in homes for their development (there are umpteen no. of them), where they are given the minimum education. Education automatically brings pride in the child’s life.
7. Don’t succumb to smokers in public places. Don’t hesitate to point it out to them. If one smoker is not important, a hundred passive smokers are!
8. If you find anyone littering on the roads, then make the person aware that this is wrong (show this with the right attitude of course). Don’t hesitate to do so. After all it is OUR country and we have every right to demand cleanliness in our sanctum sanctorum.

Try to imbibe the above and MORE (if you can share them across it would be great!) in your thought process, as a famous saying goes… Thoughts make habits, habits build character, character builds society and societies build a nation. Feel the pride and a sense of accomplishment, believe me, it’s great!

JAI HIND!

PS: I had written these thoughts in my diary when I was very disturbed with the sorry state of affairs in our city after the blasts and the fly-over fall.

Regards

Preethi

Team CRM, e-Park

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.