was the‘Prince of Bengal’ and the discussions about famous personalities turned into a war of the states. The state wise sorting of those personalities, of who belonged from where, began. Some even proposed the sorting of those people according to their religion and cities. Dravid is from Bangalore, Tendulkar from Mumbai and Sania Mirza from Hyderabad. In a blink of an eye, the whole country had been demarcated. This conversation guided me to profound thoughts and made me consider that it could have have been better if all these names stood for India.
Isn’t it strange how we boast about our states, where we are from and talk in our regional languages while discriminating those from other states? It makes one proud, but do we realize how we are differentiating among our own countrymen?
This was just an example of how people think today. 56 years of Independent India and we are still fighting irresponsible thoughts on who is greater and smarter. Does it really matter which state is greater or who belongs to which religion? I think it is time to get over these trivial practices. We have suffered enough, from the horrors of the past, which was a hard fought war for our forefathers. Now we seem to be coming of age to commit mistakes, which will leave everyone devastated.

Our freedom fighters bravely gave up their lives because they wanted to free India, and not to divide it into several parts. Today, we don’t even hesitate to deny from the fact of belonging from a certain class or origin. The truth whereas, is that we are all Indians, and nothing else.

Did Subhash Chandra Bose want a free Bengal? Did Bhagat Singh aim to free Punjab? Or did
Mahatma Gandhi desire to free Gujarat? The answer is ‘No’. They all wanted a free country, India – a united nation of peace and prosperity. But, these instances and many more give me a feeling that their very dreams are being shattered, by none other than us, the contemporary generation.

The youth today seem to be following the same path of self destruction instead of trying to change the mindset of the people. The future of our country, as it is said, is in the hands of young India. If we do not try and improve the things, then who will? Will the country survive in peace for long? Such a mindset threatens to destroy the very fabric of our nation. We have already seen real life events and incidents, which have cost many their precious lives. The rivalry between states and religion is not new. May it be a water crisis or any other disastrous situations. The Godhra incident was shameful for the whole country. If we let situations like these to continue, we will not need any outside force to destroy us. A good civil war among the states will begin and the country will be shattered by its own people.

APJ Abdul Kalam, Sachin Tendulkar, Amitabh Bacchan, Amritya Sen, M.S. Dhoni, Leander Paes, Anju Bobby George, Sania Mirza, Pankaj Advani and more recently Abhinav Bindra. Many more have brought great acclaim and praise for the nation. We too can enjoy being Indians a lot more than enjoying being of some community. It’s time we decide for ourselves, be one and go a long way on the path of prosperity or fight among ourselves and perish forever. The choice is ours. I have made mine, how about you?