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India was once the world’s first civilization. It was a country revered by the rest of the world as having technological and sociological advances far beyond that of any European or any of its neighboring Asian countries. But the India as we know now paints a far different story what it once was. The country stands third in rank to be plagued with poverty, only edging over countries like Bangladesh and Nigeria. What has happened? Why has India taken an evolution in reverse? What went wrong in the chain of progress? These are the type of realization questions that needs to brew in a citizen mind and it will evoke a thought process to overcome such a situation.

As a citizen, there is little they can physically do. The government may come up with many action plans but it will not be effective or efficient enough to clean up 200 years of a backdraft. There has to be a cultivation in a culture that strives for excellence in everything we do; from our daily task to our life goals. There is a spreading disease amongst the Indians called ‘Chalta hai’ that needs to be eradicated from their minds and that is where they need the government to focus on. How to change the mentality of the citizens?

The government can introduce a plan to control the oversized population but what use is a ruling over people who don’t understand why there is a ruling or what is the need for it? The government can also seek to provide literacy for the people, but what use will that do if they themselves take no effort to learn? The government can create thousands of job opportunities and again it will be pointless if the people are too lazy and ignorant to understand the need for individual and community growth.

What is the difference between an Ambani and the average Indian? What made Tata Birla the household name that it is today and why can’t an ordinary ‘bhai’ of the streets of Chandni Chouk set himself to be like Mr. Birla? What was the basis that motivated Vijay Malia to fly high in the air as compared to the hundreds of men dragging rickshaws in the city of Calcutta? Why is it that this country ranking third among the poorest of countries can also produce some of the top ranking millionaires in the world?

There is blockade in the people’s progress and the guilty party is none other than themselves. There is this culture amongst the average Indian; “Minimum effort exerted but maximum expectation on the returns”. And as a citizen, how can they break this blockade? Simply by starting at home, they should teach their young ones of the promise that was once India. They should teach them of progress and possibilities that lie ahead of them when the right amount of effort and dedication is shown. There has to be a revolution within oneself to rise beyond the call of duty. The average Indian has to spearhead his own progress without waiting for some form of opportunity, he has to plow his own path to success. The average Indian cannot stop to blame another for his losses but pick himself up and move on to bigger and greater heights. This mentality is what pushed Japan, which was once a bare wasteland, effects of an atomic bomb to now becoming what is one of the most advanced cities in the world.

Can they do it? Time will tell…