From correspondents in India, 11:16 AM IST

'Like all the Indians, my heart is also aflutter with the tricolour (Indian flag) not only on Independence Day but throughout the year whenever we even think about our country,' says Arpit Shah, a senior engineer, in Dubai.

'In my company, we Indians like to sing 'Jana Mana Gane' in the morning in the bus when going to work on Aug 15 and Jan 26. We also distribute sweets and cakes in the entire company. The fact is that only now I come to know and realize the real value of India's freedom and lifestyle,' adds Aprit.

This is one of the unusual ways in which NRIs celebrate India's Independence Day.

In most American cities, Indians celebrate Aug 15 with a parade or a cultural programme at which American and Indian leaders are invited. Many Indians hoist the tricolour at their homes. In other countries, NRIs attend the tricolour hosting ceremony where the Indian envoy reads a message from the president of India followed by song and dance and a party.

Says Saurabh Ojha: 'As an NRI, whenever I hear any patriotic song on this day, my heart gets filled up with a lot of emotions and pride.'

How has India made its 'tryst with its destiny' as envisioned by Jawaharlal Nehru on this day in 1947?

Ojha says: 'On the scale of 10, if we only consider economic and intellectual development, we have achieved 5, out of which 3 has been achieved in the last 15 years when we opened our financial market to the world. But on the global stage, India's voice is somewhat unheard. It's still not getting the kind of importance it should.'

Balbir Sihag of Boston credits Nehru for establishing democratic and high grade educational institutions in India.

'Even the Emergency period (1975-77) could not shake its foundations. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi enhanced national security and national pride beyond any expectations.

'Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (when he was Foreign Affairs Minister) is solely responsible for a dialogue with China and Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi for sustaining that. As far as ending poverty, ignorance and disease, there has been modest progress. Our current Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is the right person at the right time. If given a free hand, he can bring real prosperity to India. He has the vision, the knowledge and the energy to accomplish it.'

Hasmukh Naik from California maintains that India is still trying to make its tryst with its destiny.

What is India's biggest problem today? The answers were almost unanimous - corruption and population explosion. Some added: terrorism.

For most NRIs, independent India's biggest achievement is its sustained democracy. The other achievements are: defence forces, the Supreme Court and IT. A lone response was the nuclear tests of 1998.

For NRIs, is India today a land of poor people with poor infrastructure (creaking airports, bad roads, power failures, water shortages and so on) or a fast rising economic power in the world? Most NRIs said it was both.

They feel that the benefits of growth are not trickling down to the poor but argued that people have to be patient.

Said one NRI: 'Certainly good infrastructure brings comfort and promote

s business, but wrong policies are more troublesome... Poor people can be helped more effectively if taxes from individuals and corporations can be collected and spent on their uplift.'

Viewing from abroad, has independent India lived up to the expectations of its freedom fighters and founding fathers? The answers were almost equally divided between yes and no. In some areas progress has been remarkable and in others far less than desirable.

'India should try to encourage NRIs for investment and resettlement. We need dual citizenship without any limiting rights,' says Raj Mehta.

Most NRIs said India's image today was that of a rising economic power and a land of IT; they always respond effectively to any criticism of India and correct misinformation. When they praise India, says one: 'I tell them, keep talking!'

(A media consultant to a UN Agency, Kul Bhushan previously worked abroad as a newspaper editor and has travelled to over 55 countries. He lives in New Delhi and can be contacted at: kulbhushan2038@gmail.com)

(Staff Writer, © IANS)