“India shining” a perfect term coined by the political leaders to magnify India’s image on the global scenario and to lure the youth into believing that India is actually moving towards being a developed nation. India shining was part of the BJP’s election manifesto which failed miserably bringing the Congress party into power.

With the congress providing a stable government in India and the next elections not very far away the BJP has shed its religious image and welcomed the term “Secular India Shining”. It seems that the harbingers of communal unrest in India appear to have realised that they can no more exploit religious fault lines for their political profit. It seems ironical that ideologies like Hindutva and Ram Mandir and Rath Yatra will no longer exist to entertain the political critics and India will from now onwards move towards true secularism which was the vision of the our forefathers who selflessly toiled towards the progress of the country.

While we look at the political picture that brought India shining into existence, the question still remains whether India is really shining.

Here lies the contradiction when we see that traditional values are stringent and welcoming the modern values are a tough task.

While the IT industry is witnessing growth with a rapid pace, the roads which lead to them still have ample potholes. The high rises are getting higher and the slums are getting bigger where people continue to live in unhygienic conditions in clustered rooms and no basic sanitation facilities. The level of education has increased along with the unemployment rate and the future of the country is armed with higher degrees and frustration.

Multinational companies find India as a green pasture where there is no dearth of talent that can be acquired at cheap rates. Outsourcing is the new slogan for all job aspirants who are willing to work for a 17 hour shift for the BPOs.

Women have been provided equality of status in every sphere, they are employed and independent yet evils like dowry and female infanticide are very much a reality.

The Sarwa Sikha Abhiyan fervently spreads in all parts of India, yet children can be found working in shabby conditions as domestic helps and daily wagers in all parts of the country, human trafficking of children and little girls.

Although the new budget brings for all the farmers a welcoming relief in the forms exemption on loans, Rs 60,000-crore relief package along with complete waiver for small scale farmers, they continue to commit suicide with the agricultural sector in India suffering continuously .

These are very few examples that can make anyone ponder whether India is really shining, the contradictions are found everywhere. India will really shine only if these contradictions are eradicated which can only be possible if the pace of growth continues to be steady as the way it is. The next decade will see INDIA SHINING with glory.
IMAGE CREDIT:www.hcamag.com