India – A Country Obsessed with Cricket, Film-stars and Jokers!

By: Shreepal Singh

If India is to rise and able to talk to the world in a voice that is heard with respect, it is high time that this country should wean away its population from cinema and stars, temple and mosque, religions and astrology etc. towards what Mangalyan and Curiosity are doing today, which kind of ocean is found on Titan today, what kind of a totally new material is created in laboratory etc.

India has inherited a very ancient culture and civilization based on spiritualism. Spiritualism is not an airy thing made out of concoction; it is a real and hard thing; as real and hard as Mars and Moon. But this spiritualism to make itself accepted by humanity with a sense of gratitude has to rise to the level of modern science and to surpass this science.

India has many challenges to face in this competitive world – it has to make itself “swatch Bharat”, to make its economy booming, to make its borders safe against its enemies, to safeguard itself against terrorism, to contain its population explosion, to create jobs for the millions, to provide affordable health to all, to defeat divisive politics and promote democracy, to educate all, to develop science and technology … and the list goes on. This limited list of works to be done by India is not in the order of priority assigned to them – it cannot be, for all these challenges are equally formidable.

But above them all, there is a great problem with us Indians. We as a country are excessively obsessed with cricket, film stars, astrology, which comedian or joker is the best crowed-puller,  who marries whom and when, which film actor is going to have a baby and when. Shall this country ever be able to understand that all this nonsense puts India at the lowest level of humanity?

Human resource is the most valuable one out of all resources – be they land, water, forest, minerals or wealth. Human resource can achieve wonders in the life of a nation. But if this resource is frittered away in national pursuits of nonsensical desirables hinted at above, then, this human resource is not a resource but a burden – burden merely of a population to feed and clothe.

India needs to wean away its population from such pursuits – wean away by proactive and vigorous campaigns. The responsibility on this score lies primarily on the media and the government. The media must be wise in its contents and the government must unleash sustained campaigns inculcating love for science and technology and hate for attempts by the vested interests to hijack the national attention to wasteful pursuits.