A country, of 1.3 billion people speaking over 4000 diverse languages, are currently speaking the same language- the language of change. On the occasion of the Independence of India, 15th of August, 1947, Prime Minister Nehru highlighted some basic problems which India needs to take care of – namely poverty, hunger, malnutrition, law and order and healthcare.

After 66 years of Independence, India has still not been able to solve these basic minimum problems. Malnutrition still grips every corner of India and is the biggest problem India currently faces, nearly 70% of our population lives below Rs. 100 every day (Source: World Bank) and the only thing flooding the news channels is instances of ‘rape’, ‘riots’ and ‘rash misuse of power’. There is an urgent need to replace these 3 ‘r’s with 3 ‘R’s- Reply, React and Reform.

We need to give a reply! A reply to the world that we do not have a lame duck government which can be taken for granted. We need to give a reply to our neighbours that use of force will be met with force and nothing will be taken lightly as every Jawaan’s life matters. We need to give a reply to the investors that India is the economy that will lead the economic growth in the coming years and will become the economic superpower of the world. We need to give a reply to Japan, USA and China that a country of 1.2 billion can manage their affairs and we can help our own brothers and sisters and we don’t need sympathetic loans to manage even our basic needs. And to give a reply, we need some one to talk. We need some people who can stand up and tell these people that ‘Look, we will grow and we will do it ourselves and if you stand in the way, it will not be good for you’! We cannot have a person as the leader of the country who can just condemn things but do nothing else. It is high time that we need a leader, not a robot. And the political field must reform to give the intellectual the way, not the influential who survive due to surnames.

We need to react. React to our surroundings. The world is in the most devastating stage since WW II. The economies of the developed or nearly developed countries have crashed and the only disadvantage of global economies is showing up with economic slowdowns in all countries. The middle east is engulfed in the biggest revolution of the century up to date and just when the sun looks to be shining, things become gloomy again. Global warming and the greenhouse effect are threatening the very existence of our race. We need a country which reacts to these problems, a country which identifies the problem and finds ways to deal with it. We need to work for the development of democracy and to end the evil prevalent in the world. The world needs a Ram today. Ignorance just isn’t bliss at this moment.

Yes, we need to do something for the world and we need to give something back to the pool which has given us so much, but before reforming the world we need to reform our own country. There is an urgent need to reform all the fragments of our country- economic, social and political. The economy is facing its worst period since 1991. Investor confidence is low and the vale of the rupee ( in comparison to the dollar) seems to be reaching Dr. Manmohan Singh’s age. We need to bring about economic reforms and need to bring back the 8% growth story and probably take the growth much higher than that! India is a culturally rich country but unfortunately, we may just loose that tag soon. In a country where we have women as gods, we have a woman being raped every 20 minutes? Women are discriminated against in most of the areas in the country but all the people making our country proud today are mostly women. From Saina Nehwal and Sania Mirza to Kiran Bedi and Sunita Williams. Its time we understand the value of women and face the fact that women are the better half of men. We must reform ourselves so we respect women and no women ever feels unsafe on the soil of this country again. The biggest reform India currently requires is in the political segment. In a country where the average age of people is 19-21, the average age of the politicians is 53.03 years and there are more than 30 members above the age of 70 years in our parliament,including our honourable Prime Minister. This age gap is the reason that our youth has not been able to connect to the country’s leadership and there has been a big deficit, which no foreign loan can help to control. We must take it upon us as our duty to bridge this gap- this ever increasing gap. There have to be serious political reforms so that the youth can be included and can have a substantial say In the law making of the country

These changes are necessary! We must move from the ‘r’s to the ‘R’s, if we are to ‘R’ace ahead!
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