A Vision Statement for Bharat

Does a government need a Vision to run a Country? A clear statement similar to what Companies do. Running a Country is much more complex. There are many obligations & Welfare schemes that cannot have profit as a motive. Still Government needs to have an aspirational statement that guides all the Departments & Citizens towards that goal. It needs to not alter any of the Fundamental Rights and laws laid down by the Constitution & the Parliament. This would not be viable. New amendments can be made as has been done in the past. The Most important point is that the all Citizens need to not just be equal but even feel Equal & privileged. All should have freedom to practice their religion & culture within the framework of the Constitution There should not be appeasement of any particular community nor force any majority community to compromise. Justice has to be for all & not a selected few communities.

I propose the following Vision Statement

“Bharat should revive its Sanatan Dharm culture as a way of living and All Bharati’s should work towards re-instating the glory of Bharatvarsh”

Let us unpack this broad & powerful vision.

Reviving Sanatan Dharam culture as a way of living

This is a very broad statement & it needs to be explained in detail. Sanatan Dharm, at its core, is a philosophy and not a rigid structure. First & foremost it does not imply that everyone has to become Hindu. Hinduism itself is very broad based. It does not believe in one Eeshwar, one book or one way of life. You can be an atheist & still be a Hindu. A Sanatani culture is naturally secular & can easily accommodate all faiths. It respects all, keeps Dharma at the top layer even above family & self. People should naturally aspire to be good human beings. Sanatani culture will never have cultural & religious wars. A Sanatani culture will never encourage hatred for communities leading to multiple genocides. This is something we have seen in Europe, Middle East & Africa. There will always be criminals, evil minds & fanatics conspiring disruption. Government & Police needs to deal with this sternly. monotheistic Societies have always marginalized its Minorities. This is something that will never happen in a Sanatani Society. A Sanatani Society never leverages Religion & forced conversions.

Working towards re-instating the glory of Bharatvarsh

The second part of the Vision inspires all citizens to work towards the glory of Bharatvasrh. Citizens have to feel that “my actions benefit me & also Bharat”. Economic growth is very important. A few centuries ago, 25% of global GDP was from Bharat. It should not take too time to reach there. A balance between Capitalism & Socialism has to be maintained but not indefinitely. Government has to be very agile & keep changing with progress. Our Policies & Laws sometimes become stagnant & irrelevant. Make life easier for Citizens. Here Government has to manage timely welfare schemes to uplift certain sections of the society. It should not merely be Vote bank Politics, where the community is not getting uplifted & mere slogans are thrown during Elections. Forget premium Corporate or Government jobs, even getting a decent job is a challenge. This is not because jobs are not available, it is mainly because skill is an issue. The way the Government has focused & delivered successfully on Gas Cylinders, Toilets, Tap Water, Financial inclusion, Health Insurance, it is time to focus on Education. Primary Education, Vocational courses is the way to create Skilled people. Bharati’s should give up on this mad rush of creating Graduates who will never get a job. Government should set a target that per capita income be Rs 26,000/- (US$ 300) Per month. This is a tall goal which will take time. But we need to work towards it. A target of 3rd Largest or 5T$ economy means nothing to an average citizen.

A Vision Realized Through Collective Effort This vision is not a short-term goal. It demands sustained effort over decades, with milestones celebrated and policies constantly refined. By 2047, Bharat should be a nation where:
Every citizen feels proud of their heritage and secure in their identity.
Economic growth uplifts all, leaving no community behind.
The values of Dharma guide governance and everyday life, fostering a just and harmonious society.

A clear vision like this will unite Bharat and inspire its citizens to contribute to a brighter future—one where prosperity, equality & justice coexist seamlessly.

Hindus in Bangladesh - Way forward

An Islamic Country will have no space for minority communities. This has been seen in forty + Nations. Minorities are successfully eradicated. Same has happened in Pakistan & Bangladesh. They just cannot tolerate minorities. This is especially very strong when the radicals take over the Government. Pakistan has been like that for decades and the same is happening with Bangladesh. The question is who will save the 1cr + Hindus in Bangladesh? While India can always help, the primary responsibility will be of the Hindus over there. They will have to lead the battle for their rights. There are many things that can be done. Form a Political Entity and Party. Fight for their representation in Government. A Political voice will be heard outside more easily. More Journalists need to write about the plight of Hindus from Bangladesh. Some can write even from outside. India can help this Political Party. India also needs to have some form of Economic block with Bangladesh even of it hurts us in the short term. This should be increased gradually till complete isolation, similar to what we have done with Pakistan for last 10 years. Our demand has to be the legit right for the Hindus. There is now way that India can start a war with Bangladesh for the Hindu Rights there. We will not can support from anybody. This is a long-drawn process which will take time. Patience is the key. India will have to figure out a way to support this Political entity. There will be interim suffering and many casualties. This issue needs to be highlighted repeatedly in international forums. Ultimately Governments fall in line when Economy suffers and internal people are fed up of this.

India @75 & beyond

India, i.e. Bharat, a Country that loves & celebrates their heroes. An Olympic medal match having an Indian will have a billion hearts praying leading to triumph or sometimes disappointment. There were heroes during the freedom struggle in the early 20th Century whom we still celebrate, there are Cricket & other Sports personalities & finally Film Stars. These personalities help Indians fill a void in their routine life. It is as if there is a scarcity of Leaders in our Country whom we look up to. With multiple Cultures & Languages there has always been an effort to bring about an Indianness or oneness amongst all. As they say, there are multiple India’s. There is a rural India where bulk of the Population still resides but whose contribution to Indian Economy & GDP is shrinking. There is a modern India comprising around 5%- - 7% of the population who compare themselves with the rest of the Developed World & would like to see themselves as Equal amongst them. It is very difficult to segment Indians Economically or Culturally with each part of the Country striving to preserve their ethnicity, culture & language. During the freedom struggle the Political Leaders were able to unite a large part of the Country towards a common cause. This also helped in providing Political stability for a few decades. However somewhere down this journey we got stuck with very poor growth rates almost leading to stagnation. Post 1991 there has been a change with moderate to high growth. Today in 2024 where do we see India. There are many who feel that we have been deprived of our true History by glorifying only certain aspects. Does the true strength of India lie in our ancient History? This civilization is thousands of years old which has withstood time. There are native religions that have lived a millennia & still thriving. India has always been Polytheist culture ruled by many Kings. However today, the world has changed significantly post the Industrial Revolution. The Leaders of the Industrial Revolution including USA & Western Europe have reached this position having started in the 19th Century. Other East Asian Countries have also caught up with them. China has become an Economic Power house. After 75+ years of Independence & several mis-steps over the last several decades, what are the steps that India needs to take to be amongst the Equals ?

Political Leadership in India

One of the biggest problems of Indian Democracy is that our top Political leaders are not elected Democratically. A lot has been said & written about India being the largest Democracy in the world. In spite of this our Government is very in-effective & incapable of bringing about changes that require urgent attention.

While Members of Parliament (MP) & Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA) are elected by the people through a Democratic process we have seen that very often Chief Ministers are not elected by elected MLA’s but nominated by the Political Party & then endorsed by the elected MLA’s. Political Parties feel that it is better to show consensus in electing their CM’s. I have a different view on this. This process leads to Loyalists & CM’s being more focused in aligning themselves with the so called Party High Command than taking the tough decisions necessary for the development of the State. Also the CM is convinced that as long as he / she are aligned with Party leadership there is no threat from within. We have seen this happen in past & also in recent appointment of Ashok Chavan as the CM of Maharashtra. I am sure that Ashok Chavan does not have the mandate of the people to become the CM. There were other opponents such as Narayan Rane in the race. I am not in favour or against any of the candidates, but why can we not have a process in which the elected MLA’s can choose their CM. A CM elected out of this process would be answerable to the elected MLA’s than the Party High Command. Political Parties fear that this would lead to open dissent. We have seen this system in many modern Democracies such as USA & UK at the highest as well. In India we have seen many in-effective PM’s & CM’s elected because of this process. The leader has lesser clout & power & subsequently becomes a rubber stamp in the hands of the Political Parties.

We have seen this happen in the Congress & some Regional Parties. Tomorrow if Ashok Chavan is in-effective, Congress will replace him with another Candidate. Where does all this lead for the people of Maharashtra. Who is answerable to the voters? Key decisions are not taking because information is tossed back & forth between Center & State.

There is a need to increase Competitiveness for the Leaders to make them more accountable to the people which will lead to better Governance & speedier Development of the Nation. The Congress party seems to be repeating the mistake of having elected the 1st Prime Minister through an undemocratic process. Great Leaders have taken tough decisions to set the right precedent for future Generations. George Washington refused to stand for the 3rd term in USA citing that it would set a wrong example for future leaders.

When will our leaders set a right precedent for the benefit of the nation?