Monday, April 10, 2006

The delusional Indian

Related to previous post, one of the most popular refrain is “but, Indian civilization survived for five thousand years, sure it will survive even now”.

Point this sentiment misses is that mere survival is not enough; there should be progress, which is not possible without the participation of one and all.

Our participation is superficial at best; our education system gives out degrees, not education. There is no aspiration for expansion of knowledge.

The reason Indian civilization survived for so long was, Indians of the earlier times (or atleast of the better times) were not so inward looking or indifferent. They sought and they found.

We do not do this. We have mistaken talk shows for intellectual discourse, sheer indolence detains us from serious contemplation, we follow out of habit, but the conviction is missing and that is our failing.