India's "Kristallnacht"

"Kristallnacht" is a term you may not be familiar with. It's actually a German term. When Hitler first began discrimination against jews, Jewish homes were attacked, burnt down, they were ousted from Jobs and forced to live in isolation in Ghettos. That infamous night came to be known as Kristallnacht or the night of Broken Glasses. OK This isn't how i had meant to start my post.
What i had meant to say is that Indians have been strugglers since the very beginning. In the early 20th Century one generation decided to put their foot down. The days, months and years that followed shook the very foundation of India, yet we survived.
The nation stood steady.
The early years were difficult, millions of immigrants had to be looked after. There were insufficient jobs, hospitals, defenses, schools. There was despair everywhere; homeless, poor, jobless, ill people will minimal resources. Yet we survived. The nation stood steady.
During the 60’s the nation’s economic stability entered its steepest decline. There were more jobs to be lost, more people to die of hunger more insecurity and more protests to curb. Yet we Survived. The nation stood steady.
Recently, the Indian administrivia encountered the most dangerous and by far the most successful terrorist attacks since a long time. These attacks did more than killing 183 men and exposing our vulnerability, it actually united one nation, and old saying goes—
That which will not kill us will only make us stronger.
So is it with India; Every piece of broken glass, every overturned furniture, broken crockery, burnt furniture, bullet hole bears testimony to the terrible strife that took place between The Indian troops and the militants. Taj will never be the same again.
Yet we will overcome; our spirits shall stand tall; we shall build an India that will be the cause for envy of the free world. We shall reaffirm our belief in the nation, and India’s beacon of freedom, opportunity and undying hope shall burn more brightly than it ever did. Life will go on in India as it did and the government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the dominions of the Indian constitution

Barrack Obama and Abraham Lincoln

He came, He won hearts, he conquered and when skeptics aroused suspicions, his solemn voce pressed on that American creed “Yes, we can”. In 1861, one man poor as he was made an arduous journey from a log cabin in Illinois to the White House in Washington DC, on his journey he saw some of the most piteous and savage spectacles that could infuriate any man. Notorious as was for losing elections, he becoming the president surprised many. As the 16^th president of the United States of America, he revolutionized the American society by leading the citizen to a civil war, the likes of which are rare. During this time he also made a proclamation that inspired numerous societies across the world. His proclamation became a timeless and fundamental creed for impending societies in the world.

“It is for us , rather to be dedicated towards the unfinished work that these men have so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be dedicated towards the great task remaining before us- that from these honored dead we take increasing devotion to the cause for which they gave their last full measure of devotion-that we here highly resolve that these people will not have died in vain-that this nation under god, will have a new birth of freedom- and that the government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from this earth…..” That’s quoting the very words of Abraham Lincoln in what the world knows to be the Gettysburg address.

In 2008, another man still poor, hailing again from Illinois made his way to the White House. His win was not only spectacular but also historical for he was the first black president of the States. The dream seen by many like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela and many others had finally reached its crescendo. 45 years after Martin Luther King had a dream, America had finally opened up to the new world, and America had finally adopted a perspective broader than had ever been. As the headlines screamed the next day, “America unites to vote out racial prejudice”. America woke up to a new dawn, a new beginning.

On the night of the win, President Barrack Hussein Obama made a speech that complimented that of Lincoln’s : “This is our chance to answer that call….this is our time to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and to promote that cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm the fundamental truth: that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope and when we are met with cynicism and doubt, and those who tell us we can’t we shall respond with that timeless American creed that sums up the spirits of our people,’ Yes, we can’ ….”