The pride of being an Indian

Since my childhood there have been two things in common,Never ending love from my family and friends and a tragedy. But this year was special and I thank God for that.

I must be in my fourth grade, the year must be 1991 if I remember right. It was my birthday. After a happy day at school I came to know of a burglary in my Dad's shop. I felt bad about it, but to this day never discussed with my parents about it. This was the beginning, I remember numerous such incidents the most prominent of them being the assassination of Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Minister A Madhav Reddy. And this year again the bomb blasts at the Sankat Mochan temple in Varanasi on the same fateful day March 7th, a day before my birthday. The streak continued.

'Sankat Mochan', which if my sanskrit is right, means a place where you can get rid of dangers, perils and fears. People went there to get rid of perils and became victims of one. My heart ached and cried for the lives lost. What have you done you inhuman creatures? What did you achieve? What's your point? You sick bas*****. Don't you think of innocent lives you are killing? And as always political leaders swarmed the place, scolded each other, shrugged of the responsibility and called for a state wide strike that can and will trigger cultural riots. I started losing hope.

But as I mentioned earlier this birthday was special, and I came to know of that only a day after my birthday. The wise people of Varanasi raised hope and respect in my heart. People from different religions came together with placards urging everyone to mourn for the dead and abstain from violence, with candles in their hands marched around the city. What a sight. It was amazing. If it were not you people numerous others would have lost their lives and limbs. You are heroes and I bow my head to you.

I heard someone describe India as a nuclear bomb ready to explode. He assumed people will fight over religion and bring this nation down, he called it our weakness. To him I say, my country, my mother has embraced innumerable religions and beliefs for centuries. My country is not an atom bomb its a miracle the whole world should learn from. Wrongly motivated men who haven't understood the real pride and responsibility of being an Indian might have tarnished its image over time, but they can never blemish the soul of this great nation.

We will be united in our struggle for the well being of our nation and for the matter each and every nation on earth. We will. You people will continue to try to terrorize us but you will never win. United we stay.

Jai Hind