For the week which passed (17/7/21-14) when I was alive on Planet Earth. I remember proclaiming loudly: We people of the subcontinent have been living in the shadow of colonial history for millennia.
The country had been under various attacks by foreign barbarians from time immemorial - from the north and beyond the Himalayas. As well as from the sea. A century and more ago, most of the country was under the European powers: British, Portuguese and French. No one has bothered to change the facts as all this is known to school children, and even people who have never been to school. And, me too, who does not got to school. Indians know the past cannot be changed, and accept it. The barbarians and invaders had taken advantage of the majority of the people who lived in the sub-continent. As the people were gentle, and kind, and non-violent - it was an easy task. They attacked the country and owned it! The indigenous people in return conquered them spiritually, even though it involved the loss of their material wealth. It was to our advantage, even though it made us poorer materially - it enriched us in other ways. All is temporary, and all is maya. And people who live in this ancient land know this to be true. A long time ago the people won the spiritual battle against the barbarians; this land of ours became known as the land of seekers of truth. The people of this country could have said BOO! to the invaders but most people, almost nobody did! A sardaji taxi driver once observed how we could have killed a hundred thousand British instantly; all we four hundred million Indians had to do was spit at the same time. They would have drowned in our saliva! Sadly, in the last few years, violence in the country is on the increase. And critics add even though it is a small percentage, the numbers are more than the population of Australia. But what about the majority who abhor violence? They number more than the population of the USA, Canada, and Europe together. Let's keep a proper perspective. What did the people of the subcontinent get from the barbarians besides violence and religious conversions? They did leave some good behind. The railways in India are a part of the British legacy in India. And the classic buildings all over India, especially, in Mumbai and Kolkata. When you think of churches in India, classic churches are seen even today in Kerala and in Goa. Some of the buildings the UN labels as world heritage sites. The Portuguese stamp and flavor is not only confined to churches but houses, too. And the railways from the 18th century are a part of the railway history of India and the world. People who live in the subcontinent today are lucky, materially and spiritually. A win-win situation. What is India's most famous building? The Taj Mahal. People come to this country to visit the tomb of two lovers who are admired all over the world, and are more famous than Romeo and Juliet. Everybody loves the classic Taj Mahal. The tomb and other classic heritage buildings, and the railways, remind us and the world of the history of the subcontinent. They also bring in a lot of tourists and foreign exchange to this country today. And, in future, it will double and increase exponentially. A bright future for this country, no doubt. But the brightest star in the Indian firmament is - you guessed it: spirituality.
