India Is My Country

All Indians are my brothers and sisters

I love my country

and I am proud of its rich and varied heritage.

I shall always.... 

I've forgotten what came after that. This was drilled into our heads, for the 14 years we were at school. The pledge, they called it. Thousands upon thousands of bright faces, starting with the earnest, innocent, naive, i-respect-my-country-and-school-and-contribute-to-their-pride-by-being-earnest faces of the primary schoolers to the bored, amused, been-there-done-that-a-million-times faces of the high schoolers. Every monday. Brightest of bright whites Min-Minukkum-Venmai.. Ippozhudhu Pudhiya Robin White and Sottu Neelam Doi. Regal.. sottu neelam DOI! Bright white shoes.. They had to be. Otherwise we were "caught" and made to run around the school grounds till we swore we'd polish our shoes next time, even if it was with our own blood. Flag hoisting. How we looked up expectantly to see the proud Indian tricolour flying, fluttering, fighting gallantly with the wind, and how it always hung limply like a freshly washed langot.

Patriotism is imbibed in the educational system. Every child is taught to respect our country. Doubtless, respect India deserves. We have a brilliant culture. A long, respectable history. India  is much, much older a country than many others in the world. We are a force to be reckoned with in the world, in terms of economy, as well as in terms of military strength. Bottom-line: We are a great country. And children, should be taught to respect their homeland. Nothing wrong with that.

"Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country", JFK famously said. Very conveniently, if I might add. We pay our country taxes. For earning a living. For possessing wealth. For receiving gifts. For fuel. For roads. for Value Addition. for water. for houses. This quote by James May, of Top Gear, sums it up: 

".. if you earn a living and pay tax, and spend some of what's left on a car, and then pay value added tax on that, and then buy some road fund license tax to put the car on the road, and then pay fuel duty tax on the fuel, and value added tax on that fuel duty tax, you should then pay 25 pounds TAX! to drive into the center of the capital."

Granted, he was referring to England, but the situation isn't far from the truth in most of the countries. And after having paid so many taxes, we, in India, still have bad roads. The public transport system is a joke. Police? Water? Drainage? Government Hospitals? Education? Nothing works in the way its supposed to. Nothing happens in a hassle free manner. After having paid so many taxes. That's really the crux of the issue. We do enough for our country in the form of taxes. And the country does nothing to make our lives easier. The land we live on? we pay for it. The food we eat? we pay for it. The clothes we wear? We pay for it.  And we pay taxes. And the government makes our lives as difficult as possible. 

Unconditional love is a myth. It just doesn't work. Love has to be mutually rewarding. Any relationship, for that matter. I will love my country when my country treats me well. When my country makes taxes worth paying. And when the government makes life a breeze. The other aspects of life, apart from work that is. I'm not asking for free food and clothing and shelter and money. I will work and earn my living. I will be productive and useful to the country. The country should be useful to me as well. Even if it isn't useful, it at least shouldnt be harmful. Burning the money that we pay in taxes will be more useful in that it offers some fun. And will probably piss off the environmentalists, which is an important part of the aboveforementioned fun. 

Which is why, for now, I'm Indian. and I'm appropriately proud to be one. Just don't ask me to love my country or give up my life for it. I have loved it enough, when I was an naïve preschooler. And it has done absolutely nothing for me, or my family, or my loved ones, or anyone else I know. I think I'm justified in expecting some reciprocation, before I love further.