PARUL SHARMA @ PRIYA JUNEJA - INTERJECTION # 4

I completely agree with you that we have a strong past…and I am, no doubt, proud of that past… As you yourself mention about the 7000 crores corruption in the CWG, it didn’t much present a good image of our country... And if my fellow mates are happy to see the opening ceremony which made us proud, they must go and look back the 2008 Beijing Olympics... It was far better in technology, infrastructure and presentation. And if I say my country has given me the past what has my present generation done to restore it.

You talk about India producing 656 MW of biomass power... How many rural places and even the urban parts like in UP (as I have myself experienced) are provided with this power supply…??? You count upon people like Jagdish Bose, etc. these people are rare and most of the country lags behind. We still have 70% of rural living in India while we have got metros like Delhi. Our 38% doctors, 12 % scientists and 38% NASA employees which you proudly boast of are serving the other nation and not the one they should be proud of. Isn’t it something called BRAIN DRAIN!!

I completely agree with Paridhi and Deepti Bagga, what have we done for our future generations to look upon us their past. As a popular saying:

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery and today is a GIFT that’s why it’s called present… ”

So why should we look into the past and be proud of that, while ignoring the harm we have done to our past in the present and not improving enough for the future….

SHEFALI ARORA @ PARIDHI AGGARWAL - INTERJECTIONS #3

Thank you for the questions you have raised. I would like to say that though the above mentioned cases may have been delayed, but justice has been delivered. The accused in all these four cases are serving a life term imprisonment,which they deserve. And just for a handful of cases in which justice was delayed, we cannot blame the whole judiciary for that. There have been innumerable cases where justice has been quick.Indian democracy has not failed in any case. And its not that India is the only place where sometimes these things happen. Look at the Kanishka bombings case of Canada, it has been 25 years and no justice has been done till now. The London bombing case has still to reach a decision. Does this mean that law has failed and everywhere people get away with strong links?
I agree that female foeticide is there, but I would like to say that this social evil has been among the illiterate section of the society. And all efforts are being made to stop it. Do you know that if the doctors carry out scans to determine the sex of the child,they can be arrested and given a harsh punishment for it? Isn’t it good that if there is a certain flaw,all Indians are united in stopping it? No educated Indian indulges in this. We are girls. We are on this earth, and we will make our nation proud of us.
I think the Babri Masjid judgement has been a very peaceful one. There has been no hypocrisy, just a step ahead to maintain peace and harmony between Hindus and Muslims. And this is the need of the hour.
And regarding the CWG, I would say that it has been a major success despite all the hurdles. So maybe now you can’t say that it was a mess. Because the final result has made us even more PROUD of our country. And many sportsmen are getting a chance. CWG is again a perfect example of that. So many faces have made us proud. So it no longer remains the game of just Sachin Tendulkar or Viswanathan Anand, the newcomers have been given the best chance. I agree that because the population of our country is large, so maybe not  every single person is given a chance, but then ‘Where there is a will,there is a way.’Those who had it in them, surely made it, be it any field. This makes me feel proud.
Lastly, I would like to raise a question to you regarding the architectural heritage. Again I would say that the measures taken have reduced this problem too. With due respect to your writing about Taj Mahal, I would like to ask that should we not be proud that it is one of the wonders of the world? Many countries have many monuments,which fail to reach the list. And the refineries that were spoiling this precious monument are either shut down or given deadlines. Should not we feel proud that our past is being respected throughout the world ,and will be in the future also?
In a nutshell, I would say that nobody is perfect. India is trying to be perfect, and is soon going to be the next superpower. With all its flaws and the measures taken to correct them, I say that I am proud to be an Indian!                  

PRIYA JUNEJA - FOR

India – the country where I was born, the country where I live and the country which has nurtured me. And you all would agree it’s the country which claims that it could stand against the meltdown like a strong iceberg; and while those top of that iceberg were enjoying the view, no body that around 300 million(Below Poverty line) cannot manage to obtain food. But, after all we’re the fourth largest economy- right after US, China and Japan. We can always celebrate overlooking the fact that our economy a mere 7% of the giant’s economy. It’s a country where people still fight for temples and mosques, on the basis of religion, caste and creed.  It’s a country which is celebrating, the success of Common Wealth Games, the part of which was a great daylight robbery of 7000 crores of public money. But, after all Common Wealth games, we’re optimistic have been a success. It’s a country with a corruption index of 3.4 and let me point it out to you that here, lower corruption index refers to higher corruption! India is a country that tops the corruption list, that tops the list of unclean places, the population list, the education list and almost everything – I agree, very humbly. That’s the truth and I am no one to deny it.

But let me tell you my dear friends – I am a proud Indian. Yes, I am a proud Indian.  And to validate my proud, let me tell you some beautiful facts. The corrupt India is the only society in the world which has never been known for slavery. The illiterate India gave the world the number system – yes, I am talking about Aryabhatta. And let me tell you – the world’s first university, Takshila was established in our uneducated, backward India. The directionless communal India, developed the art of navigation 6000 years ago and the very word, Navigation is derived from Sanskrit word ‘Nou’. Mathematics – the great grandfather nurtured in the cradle of this country – be it Bhaskarachya’s calculation of time taken by the earth to orbit the sun or the value of that small pi or algebra or trigonometry. Now let me tell you about the contribution of India to medical. Ayurveda-oh everyone knows belongs to India but let me tell you Sushruta, the father of surgery conducted complicated surgeries like cesareans, cataract, artificial limbs, fractures and even plastic and brain surgery- 2600 years ago! Yes, I am talking about the corrupt India, the unclean India and uneducated India.

Well those against being proud of India may smile at all this and with their hearts elated – they can say: Hey you let us remind you that’s history! India was the largest contributor to mathematics but now we’ve Princetons and Harvards- better than us! India did a great work in medical but now we’ve Texas. And they may very rightfully say that I am using past to validate the sense of worth in present. To them, my answer has two parts. One, what a nation is, where it stands now is largely determined by its past and when we talk about nations, it becomes absolutely imperative that we talk about the past. And the past of our India is fascinating and interesting as it is momentous. Well, I know most would be more than unconvinced with this reason of mine, largely conventional but the one I firmly stand with. So for unconvinced, I’ve another. India is the world’s largest democracy. Our powerless, weak India has the largest number of biomass gasifier systems in the world producing 656 mega watts (MW) of power. India was the first country to be accorded the status of a Pioneer Investor in 1987 and was allocated an exclusive area in the central Indian Ocean by the UN for exploration and utilization of resources. India signed a ground breaking civil nuclear deal with US in 2008 thus facilitating fuel supply for its nuclear reactors. The deal offers potential for a paradigm shift in India’s global role. The importance of the deal does not lie merely in the transfer of nuclear energy. Its importance is psychological. It opens the door to a new era of trust and cooperation between India and the US. India is the 3rd largest producer of solar photovoltaic cells in the world producing 2.12 MW of power. India is the world’s 4th largest wind power user. India has jumped five places to become the world’s 11th biggest exporter of commercial services in 2005, and inched one step ahead to the 29th rank among the largest merchandise exporters, according to the latest statistics by World Trade Organization. The Indian Software Industry has grown from a mere US $ 150 million in 1991-92 to a staggering US $ 5.7 billion in 1999-2000. No other Indian industry has performed so well against the global competition. IEEE has proved what has been a century old suspicion in the world scientific community that the pioneer of wireless communication was Prof. Jagdish Bose and not Marconi. India has the second largest pool of Scientists and Engineers in the World. Illiterate, uneducated India is the second largest English speaking nation in the world. India is the only country other than the USA and Japan, to have built a super computer indigenously. In2008, a world record was set when India’s Polar rocket successfully placed ten satellites, including the country’s remote sensing satellite, into orbit in a single mission. India born steel czar Lakshmi Mittal and Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani figure in the Forbes list of “World’s most powerful billionaires” who wield staggering authority and influence far beyond their riches. The TATA group, State Bank of India and Infosys Technologies are among 17 Indian firms that figure among the top 50 in the list of the world’s 200 most-reputed companies.  World’s largest electronic ID program is underway in India. India is the largest producer of milk, cashew nuts, coconuts, tea, ginger, turmeric and black pepper, in the world. It also has the world’s largest cattle population (281 million). It is the second largest producer of wheat, rice, sugar, groundnut and inland fish. And talking about Harvards and Princetons: 38% of Doctors in America are Indians, 12% of Scientists in America are Indians, 36% of NASA employees are Indians, 34% of Microsoft employees are Indians, 28% of IBM employees are Indians, 17% of Intel employees are Indians and 13% of Xerox employees are Indians.
And if you could not digest all this, don’t worry, Indian pharmaceuticals will provide you enough pills as it’s the second largest pharmaceutical industry. I can tell you more but go home, and do it for yourself; yes you guessed it right – google it. Google sees more reasons than you do to be proud of India. And now let me come to the point, strongest in my view and may be one of most lame thing, as you may call it, to cover the negatives of India. The spirituality, the Vedas, Bhagwad Gita- the books, the words, the ideas that lay our foundation are undoubtedly ad undisputedly enlightening.
If all that leaves you unconvinced, I would accept the truth – the actual reason of my being proud of India is that I am an INDIAN. When I can be proud of myself, my accomplishments despite a hundred flaws, when I can be proud of my sibling, despite his many disqualities and when I can be proud of my parents’ kindness and goodness, though they may not be good and kind to everyone – why not should I be proud of my nation, my country – the country which has made me what I am, which has given me this write to speak!

PARIDHI AGGARWAL @ Shefali Arora - INTERJECTION #2

Today we have cases running for more than 20 years. Sometimes by the time the case comes to the court neither the accused nor the prosecutor is alive. Cases like Priyadarshini matto, Nitish katara, Jessica lall and Pratibha murthy are perfect examples how accused with strong political links can get away by influencing the judiciary. Is it not a mockery of the very democracy we so proudly talk about??
Agreed we have lot of women like Indra nooyi and Kalpana Chawla who have given a new meaning to women empowerment and proved that women are no less than men in any field, but can we forget the many Indra nooyis and kalpana chawlas who are killed before they are born?
We talk about great sportspersons like Sachin tendulkar , Abhinav bindra and Saina nehwal who have brought laurels to the country, but what about those hundreds of others who could have reached the same heights if all they could have been provided was a coach and a sports complex but were never given a chance??
We talk about unity in diversity and India being a secular country, but don’t these words sound pompous and pure hypocrisy when we witness events like Babri masjid demolition, Gujarat communal riots and politicians playing dirty divisive politics to milk such situations?
We talk of our great architectural heritage while at the same time we are the ones who keep defacing the monuments by beetel stains and ugly scratching. If this is not hypocrisy then what else is it??

The reason India is such a mess is this ‘chalta hai attitude of us Indians’. ‘Jugaad’ something we Indians are well trained in has become a hindrance to the nation’s development  rather than being a last resort to set things right and the commonwealth games are a perfect example of this.

Now should we be proud of being an Indian??

PARIDHI AGGARWAL @ ALL- INTERJECTION #1

Many of my dear friends have raised the issue of rich cultural and architectural heritage inherited by us. Indeed India has one of the richest cultural histories. It is a land of Aryabhatta, Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda and many more people who significantly changed the outlook of the world. It’s a good thing to revere in the past but it is totally meaningless if we overlook the present and keep admiring the past. India is known and will always be known by its present to a large extent and not it’s past. And with the way it's progressing the day is not far when this rich cultural history we keep talking about will vanish away due to our own deeds. Today India is characterized by corruption and its poor living conditions, not by its rich historical past. India today has one third of total people living below the poverty line in the entire world with absolute number being more than 410 million!!

Is it something to be proud of?

It tops the chart of being one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Lakhs of crores are stashed as black money in Swiss banks while no government is able to provide quality midday meals to the poor children or employment opportunities to the poor farmers. Tonnes of grain are left to rot in the fields while millions go hungry. The agriculture minister finds it difficult to give the poor foodgrains for free while he is absolutely okay with them rotting away in fields and granaries.

Is it something to be proud of??

PARUL SHARMA

Respected judges and my dear opponents, I hereby speak against the motion, WE ARE INDIANS! ARE WE PROUD OF INDIA?

A very debatable topic I agree, and my opponents might have just great views about my country.

Truly said,

“Patriotism is a belief that my country is greater than yours because i was born here.”

And being born an Indian, I respect my country and will always do. I am proud of the Taj Mahal (a wonder of the world), Kashmir (heaven on earth) and most importantly my culture…. But don’t you agree, that all I am proud of, has been ruined my country mates in today’s generation. If we have such a great country why couldn’t we restore the monuments that stood pretty some 20 years back? And what have we done for our future generations to look up to us and be proud of their past. NOTHING!!! And why are we not capable of creating peace in the most beautiful place in the world. Still, many countrymen are afraid to go to Kashmir and enjoy its immense beauty because of the daily riots taking place. My culture, I know and I am proud to say, is the best and one of the oldest civilizations in the world and being the most FLEXIBLE of all is able to survive for so long.

BUT, what have we done with our culture after independence…

Yes I am proud our ancestors who fought for the country’s independence to their deaths.. But what have we done to the democracy we have acquired. All started with Gandhiji’s assault, murders of Indira and Rajiv Gandhi (the people who wanted to improve our country), the Babri Masjid case and most recently the Commonwealth Games. The media certainly has shown us the ugly faces of the CWG acts, and no one would disagree with me that ,although Delhi was improved, but still we have ashamed our country with such show of our Capital. This showed how corrupted our officials are…

And The Babri Masjid case showed how democratic our country is, but the countrymen don’t understand the meaning of democracy, by doing dharnas, riots and much more they don’t fulfill the meaning of being democratic…

When our leaders are not good enough to respect the beauty and culture of our nation, what do we expect out of the countrymen?

If we need to improve upon our country we must blend modernness with our own very culture. All that Rajiv Gandhi did to develop the country was laudable. The computerization of our country was because of him. But what did he get for making the country proud was his assault. And people who shame us with all these assaults and riots, these few and reckless elements will not let the country develop. Although these elements might be present in other parts of the worlds like USA, Japan etc. but still these country’s are develoing...How?? Japan which was shattered in the World War II has emerged as a technological hub of the world, still retaining their culture.

And what else should I say of my country, the following facts will do…

There are 3.22 Million Indians in America. .

38% of Doctors in America are Indians.

12% of Scientists in America are Indians.
 36% of NASA employees are Indians.

My fellow opponents would be proud of reading these facts. But certainly I am not. It’s a simple case of BRAIN DRAIN.

Former Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam had said that reverse brain drain will have to begin if India is to become a developed nation in the future. But the percentage of students coming back after studying overseas is not very high.

People like APJ Kalam are rare and not given the chance to lead the nation, that’s where we lag behind…

And like every other youngster who adores the beauty, the lifestyle, the infrastructure, the technology and off course the cleanliness of foreign nations, I too would want to go and live a life like that.

Because my nation does make me proud of its history and culture but its PRESENT ruins all done in the past.

PARIDHI AGGARWAL- AGAINST

Hello Dear Judges, my Fellow mates and my Opponents. I am  Paridhi and My Topic is “WE ARE INDIANS- ARE WE PROUD OF INDIA??” I am here to speak ‘against the motion’.

Someone once said.. “If u can’t use the good in you to your advantage, it’s probably as good as not having it or worse”.

This statement closely describes India and its inhabitants - we Indians. Our country has a grand cultural and architectural history. It is perhaps the only country in the world to witness so many diverse ruling eras, has a vast and rich culture and the best minds of the world. Then why is it that our country is still a backward and “developing country”??

Should I be proud when I visit the Taj Mahal, which is the first Wonder of the World or should I be embarrassed at the way it has been taken care of?

India has hundreds of sites which could have made it to the World Wonders, but do they ever make it? NO they don’t. They are left to ruin and forgotten only to make homes for people who are more concerned about fitting the water and electricity connections than worry about its affects on the walls of a heritage monument.

And this is not a lone example of such an attitude my dear friends. From the day we are born we are taught its okay to twist around the things a little. Its okay to pay a premium and but in black what you cannot in white. Passing some buck to the traffic cop is easier than paying a challan. And so we grow up somewhat being immune to the ‘corruption’.

Commonwealth Games could have been a  amajor boost to Indian tourism and showcased India on a global platform. We were expecting major improvement in infrastructure and tourism. Now should we be proud when we see roads turning into major potholed sequences or footbridges falling right after a few days of inauguration, or what could have been well planned organization turning into major corruption scandals and matinee shows on news channels??

A grand opening of a corruption ridden event  still remains an opening  corruption ridden event.

Not only this , why is it that we acknowledge an artist only when he gets an award at an foreign land while hundreds of Rehmans and Pt Ravi Shankars spend their entire life waiting for a chance and a living?

India could have been a superpower, should I be proud if it has been reduced to a dusty slum nation whom people of the world are not even willing to give a thought to a ‘filthy, corrupt nation’??

These are a just a very few of our Indian traits.

Indeed we all know the real picture. I ask you today, are u Proud of being an Indian??