Shall we dance?

For the longest time, we were proud to be called the world's largest democracy. Unity in diversity was our strongest asset. The fact that we rode strong for over six decades as a nation peppered with different languages, castes, religions and customs was a facet that other democracies across the world looked up to.

But that rosy picture seems to have withered away and disintegrated into a maze of distorted intricacies.

The best examples or for that matter the worst case scenarios in question are the states of Andhra and Karnataka. While in one state a son wants to ride on his father's legacy, in the neighbouring state donkeys are being slaughtered to topple the government.

Rituals, havans, magic spells, black magic, horse-trading, mud-slinging, sex scandals ufffd you name it, we've seen it.

In the Mahabharata of the political arena no holds are barred. The BJP has been having a hard time keeping its heads of state in power. The political mess in Karnataka is testimony to the complexities that our political system has become.

While one leader stakes claim to power with the support of a number of MLAs, the very next day the opportunist khadi-mongers switch sides creating a new power equation. And this trend continues for an elongated period of time, by which the aam aadmi loses track of who is on which side.

On the other hand, the netas in Andhra are hell-bent on splitting the state. Hunger strikes and all that tamasha of dharti maa over kursi ka prem are extremely effective tools in the game of Raajneeti.

Take a look at our home state. Chief Ministers have come and gone, over ever emerging scams, scandals and high command diktats. Ek Adarsh CM ko hata deta hai. Not to forget the Bade shehron mein choti choti baatein hoti rehti hain.
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Up north, Nitish Kumar knocked the living daylights out of Lalu Prasad and company with a resounding victory. It is probably the first convincing victory that an Indian state has witnessed in a long time.

u00a0Kashmir continues to burn, the north- east remains neglected, the South can't stop fighting, and the West grapples with scandals and terror attacks. So what's really gone wrong with the world's largest democracy? Have we outlived the charm of democracy? Or are we just not interested in functioning together as a nation?
We have the money, we have the power, we have the brains, we have the resources, but all we lack is the will. Once we get that in place there is no stopping us from being a super power in the true sense. So, shall we dance?