Bharat - a civilisational superpower

India will celebrate its 75th Independence Day over this weekend. Not only is this a day of celebration, but it is one of reflection too. It is important to know what we are celebrating. If we are still celebrating the end of British Raj in India, August 15th will just be another holiday. However, if we are willing to reflect on our journey since independence, the path we have pursued as a nation since, important milestones reached and goals accomplished so far, it will truly be an eventful day.

I don't think India is just a 'nation-state'. At least Indians shouldn't consider it as one. We are the continuum of a superior, unique and ancient civilisation. Unlike many nation-states in this world, India was a prosperous knowledge civilisation; it was considered a remarkable treasure of knowledge on earth.

There are just about three other civilisations in the world, which can be considered contemporaries with our civilisational rise. Apart from the Indus Valley civilisation of India from 3300 BCE, Mesopotamian of Egypt, Huang He of China, Island of Crete in Central America are the other human habitats on this planet. This said, no one could ever match the ancient knowledge that the Indus civilisation possessed and proliferated.

Bharat has been the origin of divine knowledge on this planet and home for Vedas and Upanishads for centuries. Most knowledge in the world today, which has been transformed into scientific applications in modern era, were scripted and elaborated in the ancient scriptures of this great civilisation.

Culturally ignorant PM Jawaharlal Nehru

I strongly believe, the consciousness that Bharat is the continuum of a great, powerful, knowledge driven ancient civilisation was not understood by the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. PM Nehru was either culturally ignorant, profoundly incompetent or naturally dumbed and consumed by the massive political power he suddenly attained. Maybe this had obstructed him from taking time to 'stop and reflect'. He could have led the nation towards a new direction, after attaining Independence, if he were a competent and visionary national leader.

A reflection of our glorious past at an important cross road like that could have helped PM Nehru make necessary course correction. If he were responsible and conscious, Bharat would have travelled a completely different path. This nation would not have taken the beaten path of our colonial past, duplicated and executed every single governance model of the British Empire all along these 75 years.

It is shocking to even imagine, how a land which has been attacked, occupied, maligned, destroyed, abused and enslaved for over 1000 years by foreign forces from Central Asia, West Asia, Europe and British, could simply 'move-on' into being a regular 'nation-state', as if nothing happened to its soul. It was, as if nothing happened to the bodies and minds of nationals who were enslaved for centuries.

There was no healing, no closure, no re-orientation, no mentoring, no value guidance and no re-direction for the free nation. Life in Bharat moved on after August 15, 1947, as if there's nothing new which needs to be done for a 'freed nation' after centuries of cultural, physical, mental and emotional oppression.

Cost of being just a nation-state

The cost of being just a nation-state is unquantifiable, especially when your land is an invaluably superior knowledge civilisation. Instead of starting from where we have lost our glory 1000 years ago, Bharat chose to start from point zero where the British have left us.

Bharat was branded a 'third world country', a 'poor-nation', a nation of snake-charmers and elephants and one of dependence for even food grains to feed our own. Such was the beginning we chose after August 15, 1947. Bharat even today carries the stigma and categorisation of 75 years of our independent past but has failed to claim 6,000 years of our glorious past wisely and consciously.

The utter lack of understanding and pride in our past, our ancient knowledge, our culture, our way of life, our craftmanship, our competence, our family system, our economic system, our core values and ideals have destroyed the very fabric of our unique and superior civilisational identity.

Today, at the end of the rat-race, we are still a rat. Most urban Indians are almost homogenised with western characteristics, the western family system, their education, language, habits, shallow knowledge, inferior values and copy-cat mannerisms. Being apologetic of our own culture have bankrupted us of all originality. This increasing trend to trash Indian culture, ethos, values, social systems and way of life by using twisted, manipulated and foolish terms like 'Secularism', 'Modern', 'Educated', 'Tolerant' is no less than a cancerous disease which is all pervasive in our society.

Akhand Bharat - way forward

Claiming Akhand Bhart is not about seeking to restore the geographical borders of our ancient civilisation spanning far and wide from West Asia all the way to South East Asia. It is to claim and restore the glorious legacy, spirit, knowledge and superiority of our ancient civilisation.

It is about time we expand our horizon, thoughts, curiosity and self-reliance. I believe a lot of time has been wasted by Bharat in unwarranted solicitation of validation by west. We have burnt lot of wood trying to ape, emulate and copy the failed models and unsustainable living styles of our past masters.

Almost all life-style related diseases, social malice, unbridled greed, unhealthy competition, broken family system, destroyed bio-diversity, unsustainable development, diminishing happiness, heinous crime, loss of excellence-orientation, shallow education, inconsideration to fellow human beings and unprecedented social polarisation in the name of religion and caste, are mainstream outcomes of traveling a miserably unplanned and ill-designed path.

If we don't correct the course and walk a new path reclaiming the lost glory of our great civilisation, we will continue to degenerate like all other 'Modern Western Societies' of whom we are very eagerly emulating.

K Krishna Saagar Rao(The author is the chief spokesperson of BJP Telangana and an organisational strategist)