AFFINITY Or IDENTITY?

I know someone who traveled across two of the European countries recently on a business trip for three weeks. I knew him for more than four years now. He is quite a good guy with absolutely no bad habits, helpful and one who is more inclined towards spirituality. More to say he is an ascetic who try following the austere life of Buddha. He is an athlete too who spends his evenings jogging around.

I am penning down here to express my disappointment on how anyone (not only this guy) who come across a place with serene environment, respect for others, traffic obedience, hardly-seen beggars -- can "just-like-that" think about migrating to that country leaving behind their own nation. It doesn't matter if they just migrate. But the justification they make in the form of complaints against India can never be accounted for.

The major justifications are

a) People are very friendly there. Even in elevators or metro trains, they say "Hi" to me though they didn't know me. In metro train, when I carry a luggage, an European whom I never had known before spared his seat for me to stand comfortably.

b) The environment is pollution-less.

c) Traffic rules are strictly followed.

d) Government considers everyone equally. Any unemployed citizen gets a monthly stipend from the Government to find his bread.

Here are my views as a reply to the complaints.

a) Have you ever said a "Hi" to a fellow Indian, who you do not know before of course, in a public place? Try smiling at someone you get to see daily on the road at least from tomorrow. I'm sure you definitely will hear him say a "Hi" when he sees you next time.

b) A bit of statistics

EUROPE
Area of Europe (land) : 73,36,500 sq.Km
Number of Countries : 45
Area per Country : ~1,63,033 sq.Km
Population per Country: ~1,02,35,455 (July 2006 est.)
INDIA
Area of India (land) : 29,73,190 sq.Km
Population : 1,09,53,51,995 (July 2006 est.)

A nation whose area is almost 28 times lesser than India will be clean, tidy and pollution-less for this obvious reason. And India too is not so polluted as we think. There are many other countries that pollute the entire globe indirectly.

c) Maintaining of rules in such a vast Country like India whose area is 29m sq.Km is not as simple as we think. Yet the traffic police are to be seen in every traffic signal maintaining the traffic... needless to say not all are corrupt :)

d) If you see the population statistics, India is >100 times larger than any EU country. Still in India there are slightly more than 20 percent of the population are below the poverty line. Another 15 percent are unemployed. How can a Government be expected to pay 40 percent of its population in spite of corruptions/scams? Still Government pays indirectly though not directly for downtrodden.

I agree that India is developing for long time and many countries who had started their journey long after us are now stabilized. Still India has its own respect in the World arena though it was mislead almost all the times. The solution for this is certainly not complaining India being settled abroad or taking off from India to a pollution-less, serene country where we lose our identity. Being here and doing something for India's development will make her shine better.

Need for the day is Affinity or Identity?? - Its our choice!!!