36 per cent Indians feel the country will disintegrate in the next 50 years
One out of three Indians believe that the country
will break up into many independent
nations in the next 50 years.
The revealation comes in an opinion poll published in the weekly India Today's special
Independence issue. Accordingly, 41 per cent of
the respondents believe India would stay united, while 36 per cent feel the
country will break up. The rest did not venture to make an opinion.
The exhaustive state-of-the-nation poll was conducted nationwide for a month
from May 25. It polled responses from 12,651 adults.
Despite its categorical faith in democracy, India is engulfed by
self-doubt about its political system. Politicians are perceived
as deceitful and ineffective. Only five per cent of the respondents
thought politicians were honest. Thirtytwo per cent said 'some are honest' while 46 per cent held politicians as 'dishonest.'
A general lack of confidence in the police and administration was also reflected
in the poll. Fifty per cent said the
'police were dishonest', six per cent thought they were
'honest' and 26 per cent felt 'some are honest.'
Strangely, opinion was divided over whether the law and order
situation is better now than under the British. While 36 per cent
said it was better now, an equal number thought otherwise!
While Mahatma Gandhi is the father of the
nation, Indians seem to have anointed Indira Gandhi as Bharat
mata. Her 16 years in power may have been contentious, but 18 per cent of Indians chose her as the person they have been most
inspired by. Gandhi, it would appear, could inspire only 14 per cent of today's India.
Surprisingly, though he was in office for a mere 13 days, Atal
Bihari Vajpayee (11 per cent) ranks above Jawaharlal Nehru (who was
prime minister for 17 years) and Rajiv Gandhi. Only seven per cent had opted for Nehru and Rajiv. The other leaders could not even get a look-in.
Indians are a profoundly dissatisfied lot, yet
their faith in democracy remains unshakeable. There is a general
dissatisfaction with their elected representatives and state
institutions like the police and bureaucracy.
Not surprisingly, corruption (34 per cent) and
bread-and-butter issues like unemployment (20 per cent), rising
prices (18 per cent) and dowry (11 per cent) rank high in people's
concerns, overshadowing caste (5 per cent) and communal conflicts
(3 per cent). Sectarian conflicts are seen as the handiwork of
politicians (64 per cent).
On India's relations with Pakistan, the
common people see little hope in improvement. Nor is there any optimism that
the Kashmir conflict would ever get resolved. Only 28 per cent
believed that relations with Pakistan would ever improve; 46
per cent said it never would.
However, Indians do not take kindly to any move to further divide
the country. Asked whether it was worth keeping Kashmir in India, 71
per cent replied in the affirmative. Nine per cent believed it was not worth the trouble.
UNI
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