India and Bharat: Two opposite forces that hold us together.
Everything in nature is held by opposite forces; the gravitation force and the electromagnetic force; the strong force and the weak force.
We as a nation are held together by the forces of Bharat and India. As we celebrate 70 years of freedom, let us take a moment to understand the risk of one force dominating the other.
If India is our rational, scientific temper, Bharat is our emotional, creative urge.
If India is our hope that accompanies our future, Bharat is the pride that we have held through history.
If India lives in its great cities, Bharat lives in its splendid villages.
If India is the gregarious extrovert, Bharat is the focused introvert.
If India is the feminine force, Bharat is its masculine counterpart.
If India is the legendary name that lends itself to a great ocean, a continental plate and a fascination for the west in the past, Bharat is the legendary name that lends itself to epics Mahabharata and the cultural ideas it exported to the east.
If India is the technology that makes things happen, Bharat is the cultural heritage that bonds us together.
If India is the force of kindness, Bharat is the force of bravery.
If India is the force of cooperation and trade, Bharat is the force of self-determination and individuality.
If India is the force of inclusion, Bharat is the force of uniqueness.
India is how the world looks at us. Bharat is how we look at the world.
If India stresses on the sacrifice of Nehru, Gandhi and other freedom fighters, Bharat stresses on Gupta, Maurya, Maratha and the great many emperors, saints and scientists of this storied land.
Coincidentally or not so coincidentally, of the two major national parties we have, one starts with India and other starts with Bharat. And their world views are guided by particular forces.
If India is of dynasties and of lords ruling the Rajya Sabha, Bharat is of plebeians and commoners ruling the Lok Sabha. We need both in our system.
In the first 6 decades of our Republic, we predominantly stressed the idea of India. Our history books carried more about the freedom struggle than any other phase of our past. We often talked about Nehru and Gandhi in exclusion of many other great ideas and personalities.
In the past few years, we have gone from redressing the balance to going on the other side. We are now stressing on our other great periods and great leaders to the exclusion of the great freedom fighters that made this land.
If India is the Sun that brings us light and heat, Bharat is the monsoon that fills our great rivers — Ganga, Sindhu, Brahmaputra, Godavari, Narmada, Kaveri and Krishna. The scorching summer we had in the first few decades of independence evaporated our cultural heritage. As clouds covered us to start the spell of much needed rains, we once again risk going to the other extreme with cloudbursts threatening to ruin what we have built.
If India is the idea of inclusion that has often put down our religious, cultural values, Bharat is the idea of uniqueness that in excess can break our bonds of unity. In the past, our leaders seemed ashamed/uncomfortable displaying our religious ideas. We might be risking going on the other extreme.
If one side talked as though our nation started only 7 decades ago ignoring our ancient values, other side talks mostly of ancient values ignoring the freedom struggle and the hardships we had building up to get to the position we are in.
We must remember we are both an Indian and a Bharatiya. We will liberally practice our great religions and cultural values, while at the same time lend our ideas to reason and rationality.
We cannot forget the past and the route we took. If we forget the past, we will repeat the same mistakes. At the same time, we cannot be driving by just looking at our rear view mirror. It is time we also look at the road ahead.
Happy Independence Day to you all. Let us have a balanced approach — where we enjoy both the idea of India and the idea of Bharat.
