Our republic is 60 today.

Our country is a republic meaning that the head of the state is an elected person .This is unlike UK, wherein the monarch( King or Queen ) heads the nation.

Have we achieved what was enshrined in our constitution ? The Directive Principles of  State Policy are directions meant to be followed in the governance of the country.But apart from giving token regard to the directions,nothing concrete has been achieved.Even the fundamental rights have to be protected by taking recourse to judiciary.This does not reflect well on our leaders & ultimately on us.This is so, as we elect our leaders.

The right to education is just on paper-schools are few & far between.We turn a blind eye to child labour,trafficking of women & children,corruption,etal.We seem to believe, that, if we let things be as they are,somehow they will get sorted out.

This is because,we believe that we must individually somehow shine amongst the billions- by money power,fame etc.So there is no team work.It is said that we have unity in diversity but it is a fact that we have diversity in diversity.Look around & see how we group ourselves as per our language,relegion,caste,sub-caste,& so on & so forth.

We shun physically challenged & mentally challenged fellow citizens but give alms to beggars who are handicapped.We want to absolve our guilt & hence take recourse to such acts.In fact,we should make things easy for such persons so that they can also make their contributions to society.

Moreover,we believe, that the Government should take all responsibility for nation building.The government is primarily in the task of developing a country but we as citizens are also duty bound to follow suit.

So,if we all did our jobs sincerely,we would assist in taking our country on the path of progress.Most of the times,we are watching other co-workers rather than doing our tasks.Some even feel that laying down your lives or joining the armed forces is the only path to patriotism.We must remember, that extreme patriotism is what later transforms into fascism .Moreover,in today's world, all countries are interdependent on one another & hence,fascism should never be allowed to raise its ugly head.

There is an English proverb," Take care of the seconds.The minutes & hours will take care of themselves." Similarly,if we all did what is expected of us individually & as a team,all will be taken care of.This is also one aspect of patriotism.We ought  pay our taxes correctly &  in time .India being a welfare state,all our infrastructure ,subsidies etc are funded from the collected taxes.Ordinary people who are in service pay their taxes.It is time professionals , businessmen,netas,  also paid their dues   in time.

So,let us all take an oath today to be sincere to ourselves .This will automatically translate into sincerity towards one & all including our Bharat.