Introduction

I love to read. Be it books, magazines, just the written word - across subjects. No author has ever been inferior and no book so bland as to not merit (at least) a quick skim through. Michael Garrett Marino once said that a love affair with knowledge will never end in heartbreak and I believe it to be true, for, my passionate love-affair with reading has never given me a heart-break so far, unless one were to count instances when a strongly recommended book was out of stock! The affair has gone on for many years now (we could just yield to my vanity and put it at three decades)! All that I have known from being such a kitabi keeda is that what I don’t know is far greater than what I know and shall continue to remain so till…well now is not the time to reveal the Universal Truth that I am privy to!

Reading keeps my curiosity going and it has led me to observe people, cultures, languages and the world at large. Staying open to, and accepting of, various world views, imbibing what I like the best and at the same time retaining my distinct individuality, has been my personal mantra! Besides this one quirk, I am what an average middle class Indian would look like to anyone on the street. I wish this is how we would appear to you - the pseudo (or faux) intellectuals, liberals, seculars and the so called upholders of various other isms! I say this because every time you look at us, you dissect us down to the last bit of region, religion, caste, language, food habits, clothes and political affiliation, among others. Did I forget something? Yes, Nationalism! You call us Hypernationalists or Hyperpatriots as if it were some sort of a slur. How I would love to live and die as one!

To keep pretenses, you do grudgingly admit to being Constitutional Patriots. I call you Hyponationalists, for, you seem to be afflicted with a severe deficiency of nationalism, national pride or love for your motherland. And please spare us your sermons on how you don’t care a toss about our opinion. Know what? We don’t care for yours, either. You dare treat our nation as one mass of land that you happen to inhabit and whose resources you have some mysterious claim over! This particular affliction is largely restricted to you, though, we have realized that long time exposure to your diatribe can make others beemar, bahut beemar a la Mukesh (any Indian movie goer worth his/her salt would know what I am talking about). The sheer amount of negativity you Hyponationalists generate is unbelievable.

The Hyponationalists

You go on like people possessed, pontificating on any and every subject that takes your fancy. To you, it doesn’t matter if you are not the subject matter experts! And to us it does not matter even if you are!

Here’s why!

• You found NGOS and then siphon off money to purchase earbuds, wet wipes, nail clippers and sanitary napkins for yourself (and your spouse), yet roam scot-free using dial-a-bail service!
• You practice law and then violate it while holding government office!
• You get appointed to cultural bodies because of the training you have imparted to a celeb pupil!
• You turn from a film magazine editor to a writer of sundry ‘sultry’ books and shout from the rooftop about your meal of beef one night, and on another, wonder if torturers of dogs could be thrown down from the rooftop (not the very same, of course)!
• You, a wannabe politician, spin 2002 strands of yarn and then turn into a book writer capitalising on the election that was won by the one man you had set out to vilify (that you manage a world record of the maximum number of book launches in the process, goes to your credit of course)!
• You, the feisty, feminist Padmasree Journalist (not Warrior) scoff at one set of women while going on about the rights of women espousing your views! You have no qualms about calling your country a third world one in an unrelated forum about Women in Islam. You show no compunction after your deliberate and inadvertent role in political brokering and war and terrorism reporting related lapses, respectively, are brought to the fore. You clamp down on a citizen blogger but are unable to brook criticism of your anti-national, pro-separatist romanticism cloaked as journalism. You, with your theory (serving you or your employers) of Kashmiri Pandits being responsible for their own exodus, have the gall to write open letters to all and sundry, but get rattled even at a hint of censure.
• You of the ‘fake-coup story’ fame have the audacity to accuse Kashmiri Pandits of seeking retaliatory ethnic cleansing only because they are vociferously protesting against the fake narrative of a handful of Kashmiri separatists.
• You, the reformists, claim to usher in bahar in a state which has seen nothing but lawlessness, pander to specific strata of society, but don’t want to be called out for your acts of omission and commission!
• You, the apologists, cannot, or do not want to, see the terror factories springing across the country!
• You, the intellectual snobs, dare not question a celebrity octogenarian about the misutilization of funds meant to build a world class university, but approve whole heartedly when a student asks the IMF chief if ‘Hindu Males’ Alone Will Benefit from India’s Growth. 
• You, the political spent force, prop up a student as a modern day revolutionary simply to suit your agenda without a care for the nation. And you can see no wrong in the nation’s prime attention seeker and his daily shenanigans even when he crosses all limits of decency and political decorum.
• You, the acclaimed historian, nonchalantly dismiss a theory that you indoctrinated students across generations with, so much so that they absolutely believe in the false theory that has created more fissures between the North and the South of the country.
• You, the opportunistic seculars, instead of encouraging people to keep their faith at home, keep bashing the majority and appeasing the minority for your own selfish interests, pitting Indians against each other, in the process.
• You, the proponents of caste politics, prevent the dismantling of the caste system by not allowing Hindus to reach out to their own and instead encourage conversion factories to flourish! 

To those of my fellow countrymen who are aware of the people referred above, I say bless you for being aware. To those who are not, I say bless you more, for, I am not going to make this easy for you. Please go and find out for yourself how because of your ignorance, lethargy or sheer indifference, you might soon find yourself in a geographic entity without a soul! The country will be there, but the nation might be long gone, unless we decide to wake up!

• What does it say about us when we don’t bat an eyelid when folks go knocking at the Supreme Court’s door, seeking a last minute reprieve for a terrorist?
• What does it say about us when a terrorist’s funeral is attended by thousands and nobody asks why?
• What does it say about us when our brave soldiers come back covered in the Tricolour and there is hardly any of us there to express our gratitude for their supreme sacrifice?
• What does it say about us when we don’t feel proud of our rich heritage and culture enough to proclaim it out aloud?

Let Duties Precede Rights

Perhaps, I am guilty of the same crime as you, my dear fellow Indians! And that is what brings me to this point. A few days back, I quizzed some people on Fundamental Rights, embodied in Part III of the Constitution. Quite a few were proudly able to, fully or partially, recall these. However, their memory waned when it came to Fundamental Duties. Goes on to show that despite the Constitution mentioning key Fundamental Duties (Part IV – A) concerning an individual and the nation, our awareness is abysmally low.

One wonders why, in the last almost seven decades of independence, no conscious effort has been made to increase this knowledge! We, the citizens, do make efforts to become aware of our rights, for, these concern what we are guaranteed by the State. But when it comes to doing our bit, the lack of awareness about duties, in the absence of a moral will, becomes an easy excuse! An important distinction, worth noting here, is that rights are legally enforceable; duties are not. Thus, we sometimes get away with even wilful negligence of our fundamental duties in the form of instances of vandalising National Memorials, damaging public property or even disrespecting the National Flag and the National Anthem, without any commensurate punishment.

It is as plain as daylight that a nation aspiring to be the guiding light and spiritual force for a world, beset with all kinds of problems, can be built only by citizens who are as conscious of their duties (written or not) as they are about their rights. It is only through patriotic, law abiding and duty bound citizens, can we hope to create the India of our dreams.

• Can we, the citizens, who truly care about our Nation, its history, heritage and glorious past and prosperous future, work with the explicit intention of creating a truly participative Democracy?
• Can we facilitate our constitutionally guaranteed Fundamental Rights, and those of our fellow citizens, through strict adherence to their duties?
• Can we move from Samvidhan to Swayam Vidhan?

If yes, then as a proud, patriotic, conscious and aware Indian Citizen, let’s together pledge to undertake the following

1. Duty towards Equality

Promote harmony and brotherhood in the society, by never discriminating on the basis of region, religion, faith, race, color, gender, language, caste or class, in my daily life

This is to ensure a level playing field by citizens for citizens. In the long run, it is aimed at eventually creating the will of moving from a reservation based system to a nation built on meritocracy where the deserving get opportunities instead of giving up on their dreams for lack of resources. This should also lead to citizens and the state working closely to create an infrastructure for low-cost, excellent-quality elementary education. Contributing to an equal playing field for all will essentially ensure that all Indians are treated as equals!

2. Duty towards Freedom              

Practice my freedom and uphold others’ freedom as an Indian first and an Indian last

Citizens need to be aware and appreciative of the fact that their Right to Freedom of speech and expression, assembly, association or movement cannot be practiced in isolation. Citizens are free to do what is in the best and highest good for themselves and the nation. Sensitivity towards self has to operate from a state of empathy for others.

3. Duty towards preventing Exploitation

Neither indulge in nor ignore exploitation of the weak through human trafficking, child labor, forced labor or otherwise

Conscious, alert citizens can go a long way in helping a state ensure the Right against Exploitation to all.

4. Duty towards Freedom of Religion

Display equal respect for Indians of all faiths, religions or beliefs, without any attempt to denounce or convert them

Our civilization is renowned for its principles of tolerance and universal brotherhood. With citizens dispensing their duty well, the State will have to truly demonstrate opportunities and equality for all and appeasement of none!

5. Duty towards Cultural Diversity

Be open to, appreciative of and non-discriminatory viz., various languages, cultures, scripts and other edifices of the vast diversity of this great country

The Idea is to have all citizens thrive in their distinct culture, be appreciative of various cultures and at the same time develop a sense of collective national pride. With equal respect and freedom for individual culture, we would be moving towards achieving our highest potential, individually and collectively. 

6. Duties towards others’ Rights

Be aware of my rights and exercise these prudently without infringing upon those of others

With citizens being conscious of others’ rights, we could have a momentum for Uniform Civil Code created. This would create parity in front of law. With equal provisions for all, everyone would be guaranteed fair and equitable treatment resulting in reviving the spirit of the Constitution. It would then be a citizen’s responsibility to safeguard public property, avoid violence, protect and improve the natural environment and show compassion for all living creatures.

These are my preliminary thoughts on the subject. On the idea of an India that, perhaps, we would all want to live in. The idea is to spread awareness for National Consciousness awakening through lasting participation. I would love to hear from you on how we can build this charter, this concept together. The idea is equally yours as it is mine. The question, I ask of you, is whether you are ready to usher it in.