India
is my country. And I am proud to be an Indian. India is a modern country and is
a democracy. IT DOES NOT HAVE ANY MAHARAJAS OR FAKIRS. I am an
average Indian and I have never NEVER seen a snake charmer in my life. I also
have never observed the Indian(?) rope trick, which characterises India in the
eyes of the Western world. India has the largest middle-class in the world, has
a national parliament democratically elected and a nominal head of astae, the
President. The current president is: Mr. K.R. Narayanan, and the current prime
Minister is: Mr. Ata; Behari Vajpayee, a great and respected statesman, who
belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party.
India
is a mainly Hindu ( not Hindoo) land. Hindus don’t wear turbans. Only Sikhs,
who constitute 1% of the population wear turbans. India has also the largest
Muslim population in the world.
The
Indian Economy:
The
Indian Economy was liberalised in 1991. Today, it is a very deregulated economy
and it’s GDP growth rate is equal to that of China’s today ( it was 3 times
less than China’s in 1991). It allows FDI, and is a lucrative destination for foreign
investors.
The
Indian Armed Forces:
India
is the world’s 6th Nuclear Power. It has a strike capacity of 12,000
miles with its new Surya ICBM ( in test phase). It has the world’s 4th
largest Armed Forces. The Indian Armed Forces have never mounted a coup and are
under democratically elected civilian control. The Indian Navy ( in the first
years of the 21st century, after the incorporation of Admiral
Gorshkov aircraft Carrier) will be the most powerful presence in the
Indian Ocean. It will have greater visible presence than both the US 7th
fleet and China’s Navy. In fact, the Indian Navy, to demonstrate its global
reach, went to the West Bank recently, to make its presence felt…
I
guess this gives you a better idea of India, and I hope it removes stupid
misconceptions about my country from your mind.
Thank you….