The first gift I received, the day I passed my high school exams, was the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi, titled “My Experiments with Truth.”

Born in India, I grew up listening to the stories of patriotic heroes and carry a great sense of pride in being a citizen of the largest democracy in the world! So, is it really a privilege to be born in India?

It’s a country with a billion people that churns more than eighteen hundred films a year in various languages, sends satellites to Mars, exports software engineers to Silicon valley and scientists to NASA but grapples with extreme poverty, has a wobbling economy with an underdeveloped infrastructure!

So, the question comes back again, is it truly a privilege to be born as an Indian?

The answer is yes! I can walk free on the zigzag roads of my country, without the fear being shot dead by a bunch of hooligans who kill a woman for being woman in their country!

Are you still disturbed watching the news? Or are you counting your blessings to be born in any place in the world but Afghanistan?

By: Neelima Neel 🌸🌸