The current chaos visible around the world is something that India has been enduring and facing for ages.  Though a land of spirituality and peace, there are elements within and outside India which are constantly keeping negativity stirred up.  The result is chaos, riots, loss of life, unrest, increase in religious polarization, damage to the economy and general decrease in morale. To use ecology as an example, the Government of India (GoI) not only needs to make sure that the nation plants dharmic and viable citizens, but also needs to ensure that the rate of erosion of dharma from the soil which is Bharat, slows down.

Strengthening the External Front

Bharat is surrounded by adharmic enemies.  Our Jawans will be continuously engaged in border conflicts unless we define our borders.  Today's situation on the ground is an inheritance of blunders from Nehru, et al, aka the remnants of the Mughal Dynasty.  Fixing and defining borders is GoI's priority as we cannot defend what is not defined. This includes disputed territories in and around Kashmir, Tibet, and Nepal. Reclaiming land which is important to dharma is essential in order to sustain and further build a dharmic society.  As Dr David Frawley rightly points out, we cannot leave our pious land and places of importance in the hands of adharmics. As we continue to fight China and it's colony - the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, we have to make sure that the boundaries are fixed.  As the refugee crisis worsens in Myanmar and as climate change affects Bangladesh, Bharat will face worse challenges in the near future.  We need to further strengthen our relationship with the Maldives and actively employ ghar wapsi on the islands to ensure a permanent and lasting relationship.  Same is true with Nepal and even Myanmar, which can help strengthen our Eastern borders by outnumbering enemies with allies.  Border security is a must.  But how does India tackle these problems from bottom-up and top-down? 

Bharat needs its citizenry to be invested in the idea of Bharat.  Investment means time and effort spent towards building something - something greater, selfless and altruistic.  While border disputes are attended with strategy and might, the GoI needs to awaken unconditional support for the Jawans and the work which needs to be done.  These men and women deserve to know that the personal dharma which they are exercising is not in vain.  For example, India could look into developing a National Military Service (NMS) at the State, education level and at the national level.  India, like a few other countries, consists of a vast majority of youngsters.  These youngsters often find themselves lost and this feeling of desperation will continue to worsen with Covid-19 related challenges given uncertainty with education and dwindling job opportunities in traditional sectors.  Examples from around the world show the young, around the age of 12 are being engaged in nation-building activities, which are part of the school curriculum. 

It is important to define boundaries so that we know what needs to be protected and it is also important to build citizenry who understands why Bharat needs to be protected.  Starting out, this Junior NMS initiative implemented in both public and private schools as well as religious schools may be volunteering at the local government offices; internships with the parks department, public works and electricity, fire and police departments, economic development department, or work with local mayors and even intern with a nearby Gram Panchayat.  This internship can eventually translate into a mandatory National Service by the time students and graduates turn 18.  It is imperative for the young to know where they are living, what the challenges are, who the real enemies are and what they need to fight for - on and off the battlefield.  The young could not only be trained in the art of combat and strategy but for example also partner up with foundations such as Isha to learn keeping the body and mind fit in all conditions.  This will ensure that every youngster is invested in the idea of Bharat, is physically and mentally fit and is trained and ready to defend what they have invested in from a young age.  This training in formative years will carry through during their lifetime; during time spent on the field as well as after their duty with the nation ends.  Service in the NMS will allow the youth to work in teams, and have a real sense of self-identity as well as thorough understanding of what they are protecting.  Benefits of NMS outweigh the risks, especially in contemporary times.

Another, nation-building activity which the GoI could explore is building Military bases in all parts of the country, so that the locals can see and feel the military in their hearts. This will prevent the 'out of sight, out of mind' attitude that many of us have about the armed forces.  GoI can look at successful examples from around the world and even build adjacent but separate areas for people to visit a museum, learn about national heroes and their sacrifices for the nation.  Again, these bases can inspire a sense of identity, pride and dharma in both the young and young-at-heart, which is a much-needed sentiment as anti-India narratives take hold all around.   

Lessening Internal Fights

There is a lot of unrest in Bharat, and some of it can be attributed to us not having a collective sense of identity - of a nation, of ourselves, of where we stand in this complex world.  Philosophical discussions aside, we are still living as if we are colonized.  The sense of freedom is not understood by many.  There is no doubt that tyranny of the minority - Muslims and Christians - exists in present day India.  Minority scholarships, perks for jobs for fresh converts advertised by anti-Hindu State governments (example: Kerala), are bound to create disharmony and further divisions in society, including unnecessary conversions.  If I, as a Hindu am getting a State advertised job as a freshly converted Christian, why wouldn't I convert?  If Muslim organizations are ensuring that I will receive high scores and a cushy bureaucratic government post, why wouldn't I convert to Islam? 

Temples under state control have been basically rendered as instruments to take resources from Hindus to advance Muslims and Christians.  Affirmative action and reservations are tricky subjects and perhaps it is impossible to implement a major policy overhaul in a democratic nation.  However, a change in the status quo where adharmic forces are fast gaining grounds in education - schools and colleges, bureaucracy and governance, and other, important policy arenas is something GoI cannot afford to ignore.  Separate but equal standards are only hurting the Hindu, pagan and tribal minorities, especially in the long run.  Education needs to be overhauled and Private institutions and schools need strict regulation especially in the fields of humanities and social sciences which are always open for hunting and harvesting by adharmic, communist and socialist "Professor-Activists" from Ivy League colleges.  One simply has to look at the Core Curriculum courses by an Institution such as Asoka to understand how our youngsters are being brainwashed against the idea of India and dharma.  It may be faster to implement a Junior NMS than to change the content of biased textbooks given resistance and corruption in the system.  The sugar-coated Mughal Dynasty's barbaric atrocities still dominate the Education system but this will be further discussed in the last section.  The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has a chance to make a difference - the GoI needs to make sure it doesn't kowtow to adharmic forces and stay diluted and ineffective.  There is nothing worse than a toothless NEP policy which continues the blunders of the past 70 years.

Internal conflicts are multiplied and nurtured in schools and colleges though the issues don't end there.  Recent riots in Delhi and Bangalore show that a disproportionate number of young people have participated in creating communal hatred and have not even spared law enforcement agencies.  Strengthening law enforcement is key to strictly dealing with rising adharma in society.  Statistics show that Indians place a high level of trust in law enforcement and governance.  It is imperative that the GoI give States strict orders for adequate training and a free hand to law enforcement to do their jobs.  An instance from the Bangalore riots where the Police were waiting for orders from higher ups about whether to shoot at the Muslim rioters should never have happened.  Rioters need to be strictly dealt with regardless of religion or community for law enforcement to be seen as a legitimate institution.  Adharmic elements challenge the Supreme Court with "hum dekhenge" should not be acceptable to GoI nor to Bharat's citizens.  The courts may be backlogged thanks to the remnants of the British Raj system but the National Investigation Agency (NIA) can be correctly employed to fast track cases related to riots and unrest as these acts need to be viewed as acts of terror.  The GoI should seriously consider taking action against those who are constantly inciting terror in the public realm.  This is not a fight that can be left to dharmic twitteratis.  Examples need to be set so that anti-state elements would think twice before engaging in activities which result in mass chaos and anarchy.  It is essential to declare enemies of the state as just that - enemies of the state and they should be persecuted for disrupting communal harmony.

NMS centres around the nation will also ensure that riots such as the ones in Delhi and Bangalore are neutralized before becoming uncontrollable.  It is a pity that one part of the city burns while residents of that same city living far away from where the buses and shops burn are unconcerned given lack of national identity, concern, or pride.  The education system overhaul overlaps with creating a system such as the Junior NMS and feeds into the mandatory NMS service.  This should help all Indians feel a sense of pride and positivity towards their nation. 

Invisible Fights

There are ever present fights which are not in the public realm.  The Deep State is constantly busy making Pagans and Bharat look like fools.  We desperately need dharmic platforms and social media to be created.  Making inroads at corrupt media outlets or keep fighting unjust treatment by Twitter, Facebook, etc., is no longer viable.  We must create and promote dharmic platforms and leaders need to lead by example.  We still haven't learned our lessons despite fully knowing that we are up against a giant Hydra.  We need to fund dharmic narratives - encourage dharmic news, commentaries, institutes, research, etc., so that we can begin to fight the garbage emanating against us from around the world.  The adharmic Hydra consists of Christian missionaries, intelligence agencies, operations against India by Turkey, Qatar, the failed nation of Pakistan, Jihadis, Islamists, and the most dangerous - adharmic HINOS (Hindus in Name Only) who are actively funded by various powers from around the world and actively engaged in destroying the fabric of Bharat. 

The idea of Bharat is eternal.  However, the status quo clearly shows that there is no incentive for one to stay under the umbrella of Sanatana Dharma.  Bharat cannot afford to keep producing anti-India progeny generation after generation.  If this trend continues, there will be nothing left to protect.  Certain steps to ensure preservation, protection and promotion can only be implemented by policy overhaul, reforms and transformation which only the GoI can provide.  The tyranny of the minority needs to end in India.  The principle of secularism applies to everyone other than Hindus.  Private citizens, Non-Resident Indians - the diaspora, etc., each have their roles, but GoI must lead the way in planting seeds of dharma in the citizenry from a young age and ensure that the rate of erosion of dharma slows down to almost nil.   

Image Credits: D&D Beyond