GOLD WILL NEVER LOSE ITS LUSTER IN INDIA

In 1991, when the government of India shipped around 70 tonnes of Gold to UK under the deal with International Monetary Fund (IMF) for clearing the balance of payment, it was probably considered one of the biggest disgraces of the Gold loving nation but the Indian government has confidently brought back the forgotten pride in style by buying nearly 200 tonnes of Gold from IMF. Certainly, it came as a surprise to the whole country as nobody predicted a move such as this from the government in the present scenario but the government’s surprise move has moved India into the league of top 10 Gold holding nations at 10th spot, moving up from its previous position of 14th.

Historically, Indian Kings and Rulers had treasures, which mainly consisted of the Gold Bullions and Gold Coins but later all the Gold was looted by the foreign powers who ruled on India. Nevertheless, no love was lost for the shining looking metal and Gold never lost its sheen among the people of India. If the statistics from the experts are to be believed India is a Gold crazy nation and if the unofficial figures are to be trusted there is about 60000 tonnes of Gold in the country. Gold is considered to be the favorite gift on various festivals celebrated in the country and thanks to the huge number of festivals celebrated in India because of its multi-cultural and diverse facets. The figures also show that the sale of Gold Coins has always maximum at the time of Diwali Festival as the Hindus will pray the Goddess Laxmi embedded on the coin. One other interesting fact shows that more bullions of the precious metal are sold on the festival of Dhanteras, just before the Diwali festival.

Not only the festivals but also the Gold ornaments being put on by the Indian couples at the time of marriage has always kept the demand of Gold high in the country. Gold has been always considered as a major component in the “dowry”, Oooops….I said the wrong term as it’s called as “the Gifts” since the time dowry has become illegal in India. The Gold prices have almost tripled in last 10-12 years, which have certainly made it clear that Gold prices are here to rise and more people are now seeing the precious metal as a source of investment. Many banks have started attracting the investors with various plans of buying Gold bullion as investment but still the Indian market consists of almost 50% of non-certified Gold. There is still a lack of awareness among the consumer about the original quality of Gold and people have not yet zeroed down there confidence on any particular retailer. Nevertheless, the enthusiasm of Gold buyers is unbeatable in India and it doesn’t stop them from buying Gold bullion in bulk. Certainly, one thing is for sure that the Gold will never lose its luster in India.

COME ON INDIA: WAKE UP

We have showcased ourselves as the most diverse country in the world for long and we have never missed the opportunity to feel proud about the vast multi cultural environment where we live but at the same time, the ground reality is that we have muted ourselves of being probably the most racist people in the world. Yes, I m talking about us- the Indians. We have assumed and accepted, the hypocrisy and the racism like a deaf by closing our ears to what is wrong, unethical and inhumane, and we have acted like a dumb by giving the name of our cultures and religions. I know in India, we have the problem of Hindu-Muslim for more than 65 years but what is more heart breaking is the fact that instead of finding the solutions to the problems, we have encountered more of a same kind such as the Marathi’s placing Maharashtra above the India, the Tamil’s and the Telagana’s demanding a free state, the Sikh’s revenging the 1984 massacre, the Bihari’s doubting the government since Mr. Lalu Prasad Yadav left the railways, the Eastern Naxalism, the communists of Kerala and Bengal, and many more. The complete India has been divided into small groups on the basis of caste, religion or region. The country might seems to be doing economically well on world stage but as they say it reality bites. The question is how long India can possibly sustain its development along with all the internal disturbances.

If the statistics from the experts are to be believed the internal disturbances have multiplied in the last two decades in India and if not controlled the situation will soon worsen. Probably, as a country we need to first focus on what is happening inside the country at the grass root levels than any other thing. It’s not that today Indians don’t understand what is happening but the mystery is still we have the support among our own intelligent citizens for all the wrong things happening in the country. No bad thing in this world can evolve until it has some support and i.e. probably we are doing, we are supporting the wrong people and wrong things in the name of our religion, region and caste. We have to STOP IT, enough is enough!!

I have never been out of my country but still I haven’t felt even once when all the citizens of my country united against all the political shit happening. Not only politics but also corruption, we have almost failed in all the departments. Compromise, has become the only word of our lives. We have given the power to run our country in the wrong hands and we have ignored that fact for long. We have ignored all the wrong things happening in front of our eyes like a blind. If its not related to us we have not even tried to get indulge into it, which is probably the mistake we are doing since long by killing our conscience and not doing correct because of the only reason as it wasn’t related to us. For long we haven’t even tried to bring out the sins, which we are committing for so long but we have to start someday. We should try by making a small change in the way we think, we should try think like a human before putting all the constraints like religion, region and culture. Nothing should be considered more important than MANKIND.

I m glad that Shobha De writes so much about the current state of our country and inspires so many people but the inspiration needs to be passed to other people through the people who got inspired, they have to make sure whatever they understood a good thing for the society, which needs to be passed on else it will go waste. I m glad that Sachin Tendulkar mentions that it’s an honor playing for India. I m glad that A.R.Rehman makes patriotic songs. Thank God, we have young and inspiring writers like Chetan Bhagat today who are sending the right messages to the young India by using their genres to the perfection. Chetan Bhagat has been successful in bringing out the untold truths of Indian society in the most polite way.

Don’t say we don’t know how we can spread the awareness and inspire people to do their best, everyone is special and everyone has its own special way just find it out and pass the signal. We have to start from basic, first start by changing what we think. Forget the castism, racism, regionism and think only onething that we are “Human”. Just believe in onething- Mankind and soon we will realize that we have solved probably the most complex puzzle with utmost simplicity. We need to make the best of what we have be it music, be it blogs, be it sports, be it anything, we need to make sure that the purpose is served, that’s it. We need to WAKE UP, WAKE UP INDIA, WAKE UP!!