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As we celebrate Republic Day with a holiday, lets take a moment to reflect what exactly we are celebrating. This is the day the Constitution of India came into force. Instead of just celebrating it, why not think of how the constitution can be improved? What I’m about to suggest may seem silly – an addition to our constitution. What more do you want to add to the longest written constitution of any country in the world? The Indian constitution holds the honour of being that, it has 448 articles in 22 parts, 12 schedules and 118 amendments. And my suggestion is to add another article to it. One which makes it a duty of every able citizen in India to run everyday for at least fifteen minutes.
There’s a theory a history teacher of mine advocated to us. The government of India works in some framework which was laid down by the British. The British laid down the government framework with the intention of creating a corrupt bureaucracy which could leech out the maximum from whatever passes through it. By design, the British Government was made to be slow. And that reflects clearly in how the Indian bureaucracy operates. Innumerable desk jobs, not all of which are productive; desk jobs lead to obesity and the nature of slow jobs encourage it.
The constitution imposes directive principles on the government and duties on the citizens. The duties range from an obligation to parents to educate their children, promote brotherhood, protect the environment and public property and pursue excellence in every sphere of life. Notice how it declares what is required of the citizens, but at no point does it point them in a direction of a direct course of action. Every one around you will tell you what must be done, few tell you how you need to do it. One simple action which can make people better and more capable every single day is – Running.
Half the problems in the world can be solved if only every single person ran every single day. Rising obesity and related health problems, hypertension, diabetes, etc. Rising stress level. Bheja Garden, tension maali, etc. We live in a pressure cooker. The quality of your life is directly proportional to your health. What quality will you enjoy when you amble along like a jelly with stretch marks?
The simple act of running can improve all that. It is so much more important to run than so many things which we do daily. If we absolutely cannot find time for our kids to do this, we can just remove one of the subjects at school level and replace it with a Running class. Be honest with yourself; of all the hundreds of subjects you studied, did every single one help to improve your quality of life in any way? We can surely do away with a class of one or two of those every week, right? Every company ought to have its employees participate in some running workshop. For example, India’s past marathon champion Savio D’Souza trains employees at HUL, and others too, to run better. Think of the insurance it will save the company and how it will boost productivity. Running releases dopamine which makes you feel good. It’s a natural high and one of the most effective methods of countering any addiction.
How many people do you see in India who at the age of sixty shake their heads when they have to climb stairs? And look at Fauja Singh, who runs marathons at the tender age of 100. He didn’t start running until he was past 80 and in Britain.
Fauja Singh – defying time
If including running as a duty for citizens is too extreme; and by extreme I mean that the policy holders won’t swing for it as the majority could be inclined to take it easy, we can at the very least include it as a directive principle of the state policy. One in every three Indians is projected to be obese by 2030. And a lot of them are in sedentary jobs. What good will running do for the government? For one thing, it would weed out the apathetic people from the government. The ones who make dumb ass remarks and whose waistlines increase inversely in proportion to the national budget. I think we should go a step further and make it mandatory for election to a high post in the government to include a physical exam. If someone is not responsible and conscious enough to take care of their physical fitness – the one thing in life which is under our control and which enables us to be more productive human beings – and is so callous that they ignore this, then what hope do they have to think about the welfare of the nation? Look at Putin and Obama. Whipcord taut both of them. And look at any random politician in India. A whipcord won’t fit around their potbellies.
Look at it logically. Running makes you fit. It helps increase your immunity. It enables you to perform better in life. It lets you withstand the rigours work throws at you. It is the best known cure for depression and a hundred other diseases which are a by-product of one not being fit. All it does is benefit you in a hundred ways. All it takes is less than a hour of your time everyday. In the face of all the overwhelming benefits of running, can you really justify not making it a part of your daily routine?
The country needs it. Do you know why a lot of tribes in Africa are exceptional runners? Its because running has been their preferred mode of transport since their birth. Their entire culture looks at running as a respectable way of commuting. Try running to work in India. You can carry fresh cloths in a backpack and shower at work, if the facility allows it. I know of a couple of guys from France who do it regularly. If running to work is not feasible, you can always run to the playground if you frequent one. I hereby propose that on this day, we not only celebrate the framing of our constitution but actually include something in it which will make for a better India tomorrow.
Run for a better India. It starts with you.
