It’s always easier to live in a lie, isn’t it? Like the man who paints cracks in his walls the colour of ivory and tells his wife, “Look darling, the house looks brand new!” Until the monsoon comes, the roof caves in, and they both discover the lie is more expensive than the truth ever was.
And so, as I watch India today, I see many fooled by glossy photographs clicked in China—handshakes, smiles, and stiff-pressed suits. The television anchors gush, the newspapers oblige, and the WhatsApp forwards glow with “India is respected worldwide!” But are we respected? Or are we, like that house with cracks painted over, just living in a lie?
The danger with lies is not that someone tells them—it’s that we start believing them. We build castles in the air, plant flags on them, and then march proudly around shouting, “Superpower!” Meanwhile, reality chuckles. For while we imagine ourselves courted on the world stage, the real stage shows us assaulted in Ireland, ignored in Australia, and increasingly dismissed elsewhere.
Why do we live in such illusions? Perhaps it is a sense of inferiority. For a few fleeting years, we could pretend to be the equal of giants. We could tell ourselves the world envied us, admired us, even feared us. And in that make-believe, we found comfort. Like the emperor in his famous new clothes, we paraded half-naked, thrilled at how grand our garments looked—while the world smirked.
But there is danger in this lie. Because one day, reality knocks, and it doesn’t knock softly. It barges in with headlines of students beaten abroad, with economic indices showing us lower and lower, with global summits where our voice is drowned out. And then we, who were so drunk on illusion, stagger and stumble in confusion.
Respect cannot be photo-shopped. It cannot be staged with backdrops of red carpets and dragon palaces. Respect has to be earned, inch by inch, through truth in capital letters, through real growth, through dignity, through policies that make the world nod in admiration, not laugh behind our backs, as we jump towards China, a country whose products a few months ago, we banned.
Inside our own country, we are still lulled by these lies. The television blares, “India rising!” and we sit smug, thinking the world trembles at our rise. But step outside, and the truth greets us with a cold wind: the world does not see us as we see ourselves.
It is time, perhaps, to stop painting the cracks, and start repairing the house. Time to shed illusions of grandeur and face the reality that we are respected only when we build something real, not when we live in a make-believe of our own invention.
The danger of living in a lie is that one day, truth arrives—and when it does, it is merciless.
That truth is already arriving-super fast..!
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Robert Clements is a newspaper columnist and writes a daily column, which has graced the pages of over 60 newspapers and magazines, from a daily column in the Khaleej Times, Dubai, the Morning Star, London, and in nearly every state in India, from The Statesman in Kolkata, to the Kashmir Times in Kashmir to the Trinity Mirror in Chennai.
It is a deep change that is required… but we are not prepared for that level of change… at the same time, we are frustrated within.
True Val. What we need as a people is a transformation that comes from truth ruling our hearts. Thank you.
It’s strange to see educated people are brainwashed, with the bearded man..who are not willing to see the true picture
We landed something on the other side of the moon. And exactly how did it benefit the humble man who must everyday, till the last day of his life, dodge filth, potholes and traffic with his heart in his mouth.
First fix that, then let’s harp about greatness.
Thank you Oliver.
Hi Robert,
This piece indeed cuts to the bone of a reality we often choose to ignore. The metaphor of painting over cracks is painfully apt, cosmetic appearances can never substitute for structural strength. Nations, like houses, cannot live long on pretence. The obsession with optics; photo opportunities, grandiose speeches, and social media spin, may provide temporary pride, but the truth always pierces through. Respect, as rightly pointed out, is not a gift but something earned through credibility, consistency, and character. India must rise on substance, not slogans; on truth, not illusions. Otherwise, the reckoning will be harsh, and by then, the damage may be far too deep to repair.
Exactly Bruce. Aptly said, thank you.
So true and practical
Thank you Sister.
Truth is stranger than fiction, it is said. To view and see what’s real needs collective thinking, foresight and courage. Our youth can do it by following a change plan with courage and conviction. But, they’ll need support and guidance. Who are the ones to provide that, is the question. Do we have an answer?