General
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If you want to walk fast, Walk alone But If you want to walk Far, Walk together

If you want to walk fast, Walk alone But If you want to walk Far, Walk together

General
December 14, 2022

Walking fast will lead to the destination fast but alone. Most of us read a moral story in childhood about the lesson ‘ Unity is strength’ and grow up by listening to a Hindi song ‘ sathi hath bhadana’. These both signify the importance of moving together. Walking along with all will give strength and courage to keep going and go far.

The hard-earned freedom of India is due to the contribution of different personalities with their diverse way of working principles. Some of them are Extremist who believes in direct action and individual bravery and fought tyranny individually. Their action and protest make an instant impact, but they were suppressed. The coming of Gandhi ji in the freedom struggle gives a new chapter of mass participation. Gandhi ji believed it is easy to suppress a few but harder to disperse the masses. He mobilised people from all strata, mass participation of women, labour class, and professionals and stood together. With mass participation and working together in one direction, India achieved its freedom in 1947.

The contribution of Extremist leaders like Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Azad is immense. They were able to jolt the British administration but due to lack of mass participation and consensus of all their action did not flourish into a result. Vis-a-vis Gandhi ji realised the importance of taking all together and participating, and though it was slow, it achieved the result. 

In ancient times and medieval times, there are two rulers Ashoka, the great and Akbar. Both have different approaches towards religion. While the former believes in equal participation and respect for all in achieving the prosperity of the State and later established a new religion ‘ din-e-ilahi’ Ashoka used to communicate with the people through his writings on stone pillars and also preach the dhamma. In this he takes all the people along with him in governance, respecting the views of all. Due to mass participation and trust in the ruler, Mauryan Dynasty gained height in times of Ashoka and became one of the strongest ruling states at that time. But new religion established by Akbar did not gain importance and declined very soon. 

It is clearly due to the top-down order of Akbar which he established a new religion without the participation and mutual understanding between the people. It gained some popularity during the initial stage but later went into peril. 

Religious togetherness, communication, and participation led to the success of the Ashokan policy which was adhered to by all but when Akbar as per his wish established a new religion without people’s will and later due to rejection by the masses did not gain prominence. To walk far one need not fast and alone.

The growth of the modern State after world war-2 was also a classic example of success through the participation of all. Most of the countries joined the block either led by the soviet union or USA. India remained neutral and followed the principle of Non-Alignment. India followed its approach of taking all together in its foreign policy. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the growth of new challenges, the countries that joined either of the blocks are facing tension with the other. India believed in the ‘Vasudev kutumbkam’ and today it has good relations with both groups. It is the only country which is part of the multilateral institution on both fronts. It is also part of QUAD led by the USA and BRICS led by Russia and china. 

This approach of taking all together allows India to Trade with Iran, Russia, USA, China, Australia, UAE, and Saudi Arabia despite the frictions in relations among all.

Taking all and moving far can also be seen clearly in COVID times. When COVID was at its peak every big economy tried to develop medicines and vaccines and have an inward approach towards its people. They started vaccinating people of their own countries only and also gave more than one dose. India realised the importance of the protection of all mankind. Under its ‘Vaccine Maitri’, It shipped vaccines and necessary medicines to its neighbouring countries. The principle of protecting all helped it. India also vaccinated all people free of cost. Even today when others are struggling to cope with new variants India is better placed due to its holistic and inclusive approach.

Growth and faster mobility can be achieved by moving fast and alone but sustainability and continuity can only be achieved by taking them altogether. It can be seen in India’s foreign policy and the place India holds in terms of human rights, responsible state and growing prominence as a country. The results were not visible in starting and these policies also slow down the growth of the country but after walking together the long distance it achieved what it was aspiring for.

The Ukraine-Russia war can be quoted as an example where a normal country is fighting a war with a nuclear State which has one of the best military and defence in the world. Ukraine can sustain this war only due to the support of other countries in terms of weapons and food supplies. United and clear stand of majority of countries against Russia and sanctions also lead to weakening the power of Russia, which is alone in the war. Russia easily annexed Crimea as the world at that time was not united as it is today.

Indian society is different from its western counterparts in terms of family structure. India from ancient times followed a joint culture of living vis-a-vis nuclear family. Due to this jointness, Indian families face any challenges together and stand by one another in mental breakdown and emotional support. It is missing in a nuclear family where no one is there to calm down in tough times and share the laughter in a happy moments. The case of domestic violence, suicides and depression is noticed more in the people who leave in a nuclear family. The collaborative culture gives the person the importance of a group like eating together, taking consensus decisions and collective financial and emotional support. This is the building block that Indian society is flourishing more in terms of sustainability in comparison to people leaving in the nuclear environment. 

Walking alone will give the result that you aspire for in quick time but to sustain it, to enjoy it and the result which makes a much larger impact on society one needs to walk together with all which guarantees equal growth, sustainable growth and efficient growth that will lead to the result that is far.

Environment actions to control the rise of Greenhouse gases by one country very efficiently and effectively will address the local issue. But this problem is universal that needs a collective approach and to bring this collectiveness bodies like UNFCC, Rio Summit and many more were established. They understand problems like this can only be achieved by collective action.UN also work on the collective approach to bring diverse nations together.

Governments in India also function on collective decision making be it the election of the head of government or making any laws. First, it takes all people in terms of public comment on laws and then discussion and passing of the laws on majority view help the country to run the biggest democracy in the world with its diversity.

Actions with all, contributing to the growth of all with the consensus of all and participation of all will drive success and reach the desired outcome.

Divyanshu Singh

(Views expressed are personal)

Divyanshu Vishen
Beginner... Learner..... Exploring better..
Comments
8
Shruti Singh

An amazing story and meaningful thought also
Aapne humesha ki tarah is bar bhi kamal ka likha h mere bhai…

December 14, 2022 at 8:38 PM
Bilal Ahmad

Nice thought brother …..
Life is not a bed of rose, life is a game it’s mandatory that be a good player to win the game.

December 14, 2022 at 8:39 PM
Shivangi Rai

Multidiversion of instances to justify ur line is just wow,keep it up.

December 15, 2022 at 1:30 PM
Zakir Ali

The way you represent instances of multiple dimensionsp to justify it is great.

December 15, 2022 at 4:42 PM
Himanshu Dubey

Nice thought brother

December 15, 2022 at 5:22 PM
Shreya Singh

Nice thought divyanshu bhaiya

December 16, 2022 at 7:30 PM
Arman khan

Well versed… Keep it up

December 18, 2022 at 5:12 PM
Rohit singh

Very very nice bro

December 18, 2022 at 5:24 PM
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