Oh, India, India.

We are quite a citizenry, by all counts.

A large, largely ungovernable nation. The busy buzz of diversity, in unity. The struggle for sustained subsistence, straining at the ever-restraining leash of philosophical confusion. The surging economic indicators. Narrow, limited choice for gainful occupation. The relentless onslaught of riled and razed research on leading campuses in business publications.

One state government is defrauded by gamely commercial imposters, another imports potable, bottled water from a parched neighbour, while denying it a share of the river; one holds rights and growth of a whole population to ransom, while another twists tolerance into narrow nationalism.

Prosperity hoodwinking the hordes in the hinterlands. The urban mis-identification with the ethos of responsible consumption. The evanescent empathy with empowered social effort. Rampant female infanticide, Hippocrates be damned.

When will we really, collectively access the pleasures and pains of the citizen's Right to Information Act?

IT ploughs a remarkably deep furrow in the social consciousness for economic opportunity. While educational disciplines like Sciences, Arts and Social Studies face alarming under-enrollments. The vigorous wakes of corruption, child abuse and eco-decay.

The under-subscribed reality of Consumer Price Index. MMS is in, meditation is out. Murder of wild life and the mis-placed, mad din of media playing tag with the celebrated. And we tut-tut over traffic, tolls on income, temples?

Personal grooming, propagated pornography, Page 3's paid PR and pub hopping. The heat and dust of real estate, and reckless wreck of ground water resources. Debut and debunk of dubious initiatives like double taxation.

Weakening medical, pediatric and pension support, emergency response, crime control, sponsored sport and trust in familial values. The truth about internet growth in India, and the falsehood of political correctness. Marauding hordes of mobikes and the automotive, and the silly road rage. The assault of the incremental innovation, and consumer delirium. The cityscape raped by the Discount.

When was the last time you saw a sparrow, hopping busily? In a decade, as environmentalists and scientists project, you will be pointing out most of the species in encyclopaedias for your toddlers.

Lead me to economic salvation, not fundamentalist oblivion. Give me not over-branded emoting, but pure, pristine acting. Allow me integrity, not a furtive squeeze on a crowded bus. Spare me the media hype and commercial overkill, just let me at the game. Leave out the platitudes -fight against poverty, AIDS, the woman's emancipation and absolutely negating need for Reservations. I am just trying to quit smoking.

Cut out the spurious TV drama targeting narrow demographics, deliver entertainment for all audiences. Stop meaningless exposes and sting operations on the burnt out and irrelevant industry; don't sell me under-quality baby health products, toss me my treats in quality packaging, and keep your worms in your spic-n-span western labs.

we are the third world, they say. Our brothers are brown, black and unfortunately termed yellow too. We are the Orient. We bow, when we do, to the divine in one and all. And while we are inscrutable, we had once learnt to live with nature, with differences and with the self. Much before they even learnt to cover their nether parts. Many great religions, still alive today, have been born in our bosom.

Now they call the cradle-continent dark, they abused its rights and hope once, and now they ready themselves to corrupt its commerce and future economies, what is left of it anyway. They even claim patents over herbs of nature, soon to package breathing air, mind you.

Carnation in the button hole, silicon smile on the touched up visage, the pocketed hand kerchief warm with blood, the lust of hatred and xenophobia under the carpet, the million broadcast misdemeanours of a mis-directed missionary zeal of a super power.

Niggardly, suspicious Asian sisters. One believes in the phony absolution of FDI, the other in economic necessity underscoring national security, another in national security drawing a hood over identity crisis.

Many more pawning their people in labour camps to kickbacks from humongous western MNCs eyeing silly overspending Asian consumers, and politico-econo-military patronage from covetous, meddlesome countries. Mis-representation of hungry, young nations at superfluous, international altars and subtle, raging wars over energy resources.

If it is disinterest, we should have been one 'enlightened' billion. If it's apathy, we are a pathetic populace. If we are confused and passive, then we are really corrupt. And fie on us, if we think we are powerless.