HT Scholarship Programme 2019: India is 1.3 billion hearts, one love | Mumbai news - Hindustan Times
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HT Scholarship Programme 2019: India is 1.3 billion hearts, one love

Hindustan Times | By
Nov 29, 2019 03:38 PM IST

Class 8 winners of HT Scholarship Programme 2018 tell us what factors unify more than 1.3 billion people in this country and how.

Patriotism keeps us together
KOUTILYA KARAMALA
Gopal Sharma International School

HT Scholarship Programme 2019.
HT Scholarship Programme 2019.

India is home to more than 1.3 billion people. We know that no almost two states speak the same language here, or dress the same way.

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Our social and political history varies from place to place. So, what keeps us going ahead, united as one country?

Well, there are multiple factors. Our gatherings and celebrations for instance. We have numerous festivities where people, regardless of religion or race, come together and enjoy the crackers, treats, among others.

This joy is worth spreading and unites us as one. These festivals haze the lines between the rich and poor.

Sports and TV shows brings us all together. Irrespective of who you are, you’d watch the match or a show and talk about it. People enjoy mingling this way and are certain about opinions about the team or show.

Social media also has a major influence on social unity. The society’s mindset is mostly based on the tweets, stories or videos they watch on social media.

This makes us like-minded, which results in more unity. Above all, is the onus of being an Indian.

Our patriotism is what keeps us going ahead without being torn apart by our differences. We would do anything for our motherland. We continue to coexist in this diverse country, knowing the fact that we are Indians, regardless of what we wear, eat or speak.

Acceptance is key to unity
JASNOOR PANNU
Udayachal High School

The human mind is very spry; it is very difficult to control it for a long time.

In our country, different educational and religious institutes play a vital role in training people at a young age and good parenting adds deep values which help us face day-to-day challenges. If we all live our lives abiding by what we have learnt from educational and religious books, then no outside force can destroy India’s beautiful principal of “unity in diversity”.

Many people are blessed with a privileged life. Some of them start developing feelings of superiority and try to overpower others, which produces hatred in our society, and often leads to violence. Can we break that cycle?

Replace ignorance with acceptance and it will automatically replace hatred with love, and that will convert the violence tendency into a peaceful community. Acceptance is the key to unite us. Once we understand the power of acceptance of each individual and humanity then diversity of religion, caste, and linguistics will not matter. Let us all celebrate our differences.

Today we need to understand what makes India; 1.3 billion people are not just numbers, they are the strength of India. When the need arises, the needle and the sword have their own importance. The sword cannot stich clothes and the needle cannot be used in war; we need to accept this reality and respect each other.

Once Charlie Chaplin said, “You need power only when you want to do something harmful, otherwise love is enough to get everything done”. Where there is love, care and respect shall follow.

Together in struggle for justice
AAKANKSHA PAI
Dhirubhai Ambani International School

“Individually we are but a drop, together we are an ocean.” Ryunosuke Satoro, a Japanese author, has beautifully comprehended the maxim which the throbbing Indian population of 1.3 billion follows at large. The country is a beautiful amalgamation of cultures, religions, traditions and most importantly, heritage.

India stands united as a nation in every nook and cranny. We are surrounded by secular architecture which we see, but fail to notice — most havelis in Rajasthan are a beautiful blend of Rajput, Mughal and Victorian architecture, showing us that India has accepted each culture that has come her way. Historically, during the Indian struggle for independence, all those who considered India to be their motherland stood united, regardless of their caste, religion or creed.

Whenever cases of rape and violence have taken place, every single Indian has risen in anger, demanding justice in one voice. These are some of the instances when all of us stand united, not as individuals but collectively, as children of India.

The various religions, cultures and traditions are like multihued threads woven into the tapestry of India. The threads without the tapestry lose their significance and the tapestry with even a single thread missing loses its beauty.

Bound by matches, festivals
MANSI RANJAN
N.L. Dalmia High School

“Diversity represents beauty, but power comes from unity.” Ranking second in terms of population, India is home to 1.3 billion people from different backgrounds.

We celebrate hundreds of festivals throughout the year. This is our diversity, our beauty. People following different religions live and celebrate together, vote together, sing our national anthem together. India believes in unity in diversity. I live in Mumbai and I have seen my friends from different religions dance to the tunes of Ganesh visarjan and celebrate Diwali with equal enthusiasm. I have feasted with my friend on Eid at her home too.

When Sachin Tendulkar used to bat, every Indian out there cheered the same. Our brave soldiers defend our nation and we all stand together to support them and pay them reverence. ISRO has bound the nation together with Chandrayaan-2 in the scientific field, and now many Indians from all backgrounds aspire to be a part of the same field.

A necklace of pearls has a greater value than individual ones. Similarly, India is very diverse, but our culture, values, sports and festivals unite us all. The respect for each other has been passed on from generation to generation.

Emotionally one in testing times
ARNAV SHARMA
Prime Academy

India is famous for its spices and our cuisine is world famous, no doubt in that. India is a country which has one of the richest histories and heritage.

It is also famous for its spirituality, its discovery of zero, etc. Once Albert Einstein had that, “We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.”

But, what it is best known for is its philosophy of “unity in diversity”, despite having one of the largest populations in the world.

India has many factors which keeps it together. These include the Men in Blue who are our cricket stars. When India plays against any other country everyone gets intense in India, like they are in the team. If the team loses they become sad or if it wins it is their time to celebrate.

India is also unified through popular cultures and festivals.

If any festival is going on, everyone celebrates it; the biggest example being Ganesh Chaturthi, Navratri, Eid, Christmas. If they do not celebrate it, they respect it as it is their culture.

We all have emotional unity in testing times like the Kargil war too. Emotional unity also means the spirit of advancement.

India might be divided into religions or by beliefs and hence Hindus ,Christians, Muslims, Sikhs might not believe in the same rituals, but when the topic is India, each and every one of them are Indians as home is not a place, home is people.

We’re like one big family
ADVIT ASHISH RANAWADE
Dhirubhai Ambani International School

Is it not a paradox, that in spite of so many factors which could have divided us, we Indians stand united.

Ask an Indian travelling overseas, the moment we see an Indian restaurant, we feel good. The moment we see another Indian, we feel at home.

The moment we hear Indian music, our heart fills with joy. What is it that actually unites us then?

In history, India has been many kingdoms ruled by different rulers fighting each other. It was the freedom struggle and the common goal of an independent India which united us for the first time.

The nation’s founders strived for the creation of a democracy, ruled by elected leaders.

While the Constitution binds us legally, Indians are bound by a unique pledge, “All Indians are my brothers and sisters”.

This feeling of a large family is what actually binds us. We stay united, be it in the face of adversity or in victory. Our rich cultural heritage and history and our traditions are unique in the world and have bound us together.

We have also managed to blend them with technology and development. Progress as a nation and our achievements further cements this nationalistic feeling, whether it is the journey of Chandrayaan- 2 or the Olympic wins of PV Sindhu and Sakshi Malik or the Men in Blue or even the stars of Bollywood.

To sum it up, India is not just its people, it is one idea, one shared dream, and one belief. Jai Hind!

We all cheer for Kohli’s six
RIDDHI RAKESH SHUKLA
D.A.V. Public School, Airoli

India — a country with a population growth rate of 1.9% per annum, having an amazing cultural diversity and multifarious geographical features — can become an easy prey for altercations.

However, there is something which makes all of us feel extremely exuberant every time Virat Kohli hits a sixer; respond ebulliently to “how’s the josh?” every time we watch the movie Uri; be agonized when our iron-willed soldiers die; celebrate Eid and Christmas with the same enthusiasm as Holi and Navratri; and take it slow during our favourite “chai time”. This “something” is our similar approach towards values and ethics, a pride in achievements and the desire to unify and succeed to become the finest nation.

We have faced invasions by foreign powers, a brutal partition war which arose out of religious differences and we have also been a foreboding nation when the Constitution was drafted. These are the reasons why we know the importance of unity. So, we live in a nation where everybody has to be legally treated the same. This further paves the way for unity as it inculcates trust in each other and respect for everyone in the memory of our hard-won freedom, mainly achieved through our unity.

From the ancient times, we have deep-rooted values that instruct us to respect each and every person and search for God in every individual.

In the recent times, we have social media to inform us where these values have been disobeyed; this allows us to correct them. Even art unifies us as it displays a huge cultural diversity and at the same time, represents a set of shared attitudes and practices.

However, let us not forget that there are still loopholes in the unity of our nation, but that should not lead to us disuniting. There are still challenges that we need to overcome together.

Our unity should develop the way the President of our hearts — Dr APJ Abdul Kalam — once said – “I’m a Muslim, I lit a Hindu’s lamp using a Christian’s candle. This should be unity in India.”

Diversity is our strength
C.V.S. AMRUTHA
Ryan International School, Nerul

India is the seventh largest country in the world, in terms of its size. Due to its large size, it houses a large population of 1.3 billion. It is so gigantic that it is second only to China. Having a large population has many advantages. One of the biggest advantages is the widespread culture India offers. From the white snow on Himalayas to the quiet backwaters of Kerala, India’s culture is diverse.

Languages are very different throughout the country. Though English and Hindi are widely spoken, there are 22 official languages recognized by the Indian government. This is just the tip of the iceberg....there are many more languages and dialects spoken throughout the country. Indians also follow many religions. Hinduism, Islam and Christianity are some of the many religions followed in India. Different religions have different cultures, but Indians have overcome the barriers of religion and are celebrating their diversity.

Despite having such a huge population variety, Indians live together in harmony. We celebrate all festivals and share the same feelings for our motherland. The soldiers of our nation are not divided into regiments based on the language they speak in or the religion they follow. They have only one goal : protecting our motherland. Everyone fights for the same cause.

Mutual respect, dream for India to be No. 1 bind us
ADVIKA CHATURVEDI
Bal Bharati Public School, Kharghar

India is a vast and diverse nation. It is home to several major religions, several languages and dialects. It is a common conception that such variations may create a barrier between us, but this is not true.

Yes, India is not an example of utopia, where communal disturbances are non-existent, but it is a realistic place, where these differences are taken in the stride to achieve something greater. People are generally tolerant of other religions, and sometimes even play an active role in festivities. The love for each other is a strong motivator in such cases. Inter-communal marriages are now more widely accepted, and this is the result of people understanding, and realising, that we all are, in fact, one, and our strength is in standing up for each other. The love for our country, the dream of helping our country reach the pinnacle, is what keeps us going. Thus, in conclusion, I would like to quote Mahatma Gandhi, “Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilisation.” This statement wills us to aspire to be better and better, and to achieve the aforementioned utopia, because that will be the biggest achievement for us.

With such diversity, India shows the world the way to live
TAAHA NADIADI
Christ Church School

India has always been a melting pot of stupendous paradoxes, extremes, diverse cultures, religions, languages and the way of living.

Its extraordinary oneness and unity amid adversity and heterogeneity strike others with awe and wonder.

One is left breathless and gasping at its sheer vastness and complexity.

Around 1.3 billion people and still the world largest democracy.

India’s ancient, unique and great culture and civilization has been a great unifying factor. The variety of life here makes a complex but wonderful and a whole pattern.

The Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, Parsis live here in harmony and trust. India is also diverse in religious beliefs. Our present Indian civilization is nurtured by the multi-ethnicities of different states. India is a huge and populous country.

This is certainly an amazing thing because despite so many differences, India still stands firm as a strong nation.

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