HAPPY 50th ANNIVERSARY to the land of my ancestors !
Some excerpts from the Discovery of India by Jawaharlal Nehru:
"What is my inheritance ? To what am I an heir ?
"To all that humanity has achieved tens of thousands of years, to
all that it has thought and felt and suffered and taken pleasure in, to its
cries of triumph and its bitter agony of defeat, to that astonishing
adventure of man which began so long ago and yet continues and beckons to
us. To all this and more in common with all men. But there is a special
heritage for those of us from India, not an exclusive one, for none is
exclusive and all are common to the race of man, one more especially
applicable to us, something that is in our flesh and blood and bones, that
has gone to make us what we are and what we are likely to be. When thought
of this particular heritage and its application to the present fills and
clears our mind, we can prepare it for the next stages of thought and
action.
"If an ancient Indian of the time of the Upanishad, or the Buddha, or the later classical age were to set down in modern India... he would see his race clinging to forms and shells and rags of the past and missing ninetenths of its nobler meaning... he would be amazed by the extent of the mental poverty, the immobility, the static repetition, the cessation of science, the long sterility of art, the comparative feebleness of the creative intuition.
"In India our trial has been more drawn out, and poverty and uttermost misery have long been the inseparable companions of our people. And yet they still laugh and sing and dance and do not lose hope.
"Indulge in right action with all your strength and energy, but keep above it, do not worry much about the results of such action...
"India with an intense sense of individuality, enduring vitality and past heritage..."
Pakistan and India -- countries which are among the largest democracies in the world. Countries at the forefront of computer technology, science and agriculture within their region. Countries whose inhabitants are so variable, socially and culturally, as well as economically, that to spend a lifetime there is not enough to fully comprehend the diversity. Countries where our mumin community has effectively been grown and nurtured. Countries which are the the active homelands of my Dai (TUS).
Anyone care to summarize the various trials and tribulations that the last 50 years of Independece has brought, and what the next 50 years may bring ?
Have a good one ya'll !
Khuda hafiz !
Murtz