Please, I'm not being pessimistic or indulging in India bashing. I am an ordinary middle class Indian who lived a honest life for 42 years in India. I now live in the USA and will be here for a few years. I bought a plot of land with my hard earned money in Bangalore. I got it checked thoroughly by a lawyer and got all the documents in my name. I regularly paid taxes for this property for nine long years and built a compound wall around it. One fine morning.........a bunch of thugs landed up and demolished my compound wall. I ran to the police station as they were destroying my wall and they merely told me it was a "civil issue" and wouldn't interfere. I went to the court and after two long years and a hundred visits won the case against them. Now I hear another goonda who has a local minister's support is again causing trouble. Buddy, there are selfish and bad people everywhere and America or any other western nation is no exception. Incidentally at least the police will come to my rescue in another nation. In India the police supports the mighty, not an innocent like me. If you have money and muscle power, wrong can be right in India at every level. I have experienced this and in no small measure. I am happy to know that at least a few young men like you are going back to India in the hope of improving our lot. I hope and pray you don't return disillusioned. When we say India is improving, many of us avoid saying the number of farmers who committed suicide crossed the thousand mark in one state alone in the same breath. Yes, urban India is improving and at electric speed. I hope this development also percolates to the guy who grows tomatoes in the hope of feeding his family three square meals a day, and with a heavy heart has to dump it on the highway coz there are no takers for his toil. I have always felt we are a gifted country, but somehow we fail to take advantage of our capabilities. We have the best form of Government in the civilized world which is called Democracy, but conveniently forget the fact Democracy minus discipline is the worst form of Government. Unless we put our political house in order, we certainly have no hope with all this development. America has turned us into their steno pool, but I wonder if this is our best option. I hope it is. Good luck Buddy! I wish you the very best. I
