We Indians !

Sub : We Indians.
From: Times of India article

YOU SAY THAT OUR GOVERNMENT IS INEFFICIENT. YOU SAY THAT OUR LAWS ARE
TOO OLD.

YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.
YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke, the airline
is the
worst in the world, mails never reach.
YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute
pits.
YOU say, say and say.

What do YOU do about it?

Take a person on his way to Singapore.
Give him a name - YOURS.
Give him a face  - YOURS.

You walk out of Sahar airport and you are at your International best. In
Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the
stores.

YOU are as proud of their Underground Links as they are. You pay $5
(approx.
Rs.60) to drive through Orchard road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or
Pedder
Road) between 5 pm and 8pm. You comeback to the parking lot to punch
your
parking ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or a shopping
mall
irrespective of your status & identity. In Singapore you don't say
anything. You
DO.

In Dubai you wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramzan. In Jeddah you
would
not dare to go out without your head covered. In London you would not
dare to
buy an employee of the telephone exchange at 10 pounds (Rs. 300) a month
to,
"see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else." In
Washington
you would not dare to speed and then tell the traffic cop, "Jaanta hai
sala main
kaun hoon. I am so and so's son. Take your two bucks and get lost."

On the beaches of Australia and New Zealand you wouldn't chuck an empty
coconut
shell anywhere other than the garbage pail. Why do not you spit Paan on
the
streets of Tokyo? Why don't you buy up the police as well as the secret
police
to hush up a rape, murder or crime in Munich? Why don't you use
examination
jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston?

We are still talking of the same YOU.

You who can respect and confirm to a foreign system in other countries
but
cannot in your own. You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road
the
moment you touch Indian ground. If you can be an involved and
appreciative
citizen in an alien country why can not you be the same here in India.

Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal commissioner of Bombay
Mr.Tinaikar
had a point to make. "Rich people's dogs are walked on the streets to
leave
their affluent droppings all over the place," he said.

"And then the same people turn around to criticise and blame the
authorities for
inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect the officers to
do? Go
down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure in his bowels?
In
America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job.
Will the
Indian citizen do that here?"

He's right. We go to the polls to choose a government and after that
forfeit all
responsibility. We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the
government to
do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative.

We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop
chucking
garbage all over the place nor are we going to stoop to pick up a stray
piece of
paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide clean
bathrooms
but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms.

We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and
toiletries
but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity. This
applies
even to the staff who are known not to pass on the service to the
public.

When it comes to burning social issues like those related to women,
dowry, girl
child, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the
reverse at
home. Our excuse? "It's the whole system which has to change, how will
it matter
if I alone forego my sons' rights to a dowry."

So who's going to change the system? What does a system consist of?

Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbours, other
households, other
cities, other communities and the government. But definitely not me and
YOU.

When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the
system we
lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into
the
distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr. Clean to come along &
work
miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand.

Or we leave the country and run away. Like lazy cowards hounded by our
fears we
run to America to bask in their glory and praise their system.

When New York becomes insecure we run to England. When England
experiences
unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf. When the Gulf is
war
struck, we demand to be rescued and brought home by the Indian
government. After
a six - month holiday during which derogatory comments about India and
Indians
are made and sheepishly accepted, we are ready to leave for Australia
because
their old age benefits and pension schemes are very lucrative.

Bribery, tax evasion, unlicensed business, unethical practices ,etc. has
not
reached the same dimensions anywhere as it has in India, thanks to each
citizens
sense of involvement with the country.

Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding
the
system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.