I received the following by email, if anyone knows the author would be happy to give due credit


Don’t cry for me, India,

Let me cry for you today,

I have abused you and misused you,

Let you down and,

Never been proud of you.



You were conceived

As a welfare state,

But I made the rich get richer,

and the poor poorer,

Nothing for them, no social schemes,

Everything for those with money,

Don’t cry for me, India,

Let me cry for you today.



I forgot the old heroes, the freedom fighters,

The true martyrs who,

Lived for you and died for you,

Except for a garland,

And perhaps a forgotten statue,

Their ideals meant nothing to me,

Don’t cry for me, India,

Let me cry for you today.



Netaji Subhas and Bhagat Singh,

Chandrasekhar Azad and Ashfaqulla,

Khudiram Bose and Surya Sen,

Udham Singh and Ramprasad Bismil,

Benoy, Badal, Dinesh and many martyrs,

Will you ever forgive me for forgetting you,

Don’t cry for me, India,

Let me cry for you today.



Even before independence,

I sold you to the British,

A title, a piece of land,

A few coins and a handshake,

Of the colonial masters

Were more important than your prestige,

Don’t cry for me, India,

Let me cry for you today.



I taught my children,

The art of making money,

But I forgot to teach them,

Ethics, values, principles,

Patriotism, courage and morality,

I thought money was all,

Don’t cry for me, India,

Let me cry for you today.



I sent the brightest of my children,

To the IITs and the IIMs,

And hoped they would get some,

Plum postings abroad,

I never bothered to save

The best brains for you,

Don’t cry for me, India,

Let me cry for you today!



I ran away from you,

To distant shores seeking

My personal wealth.

Only to come back when

I had nothing more to give you,

Except my old age and ill health,

Don’t cry for me, India,

Let me cry for you today.



I burnt your forests and killed your animals,

By encroachment and poaching,

I looked away when I should

Have been protecting your wealth,

I was happy as long as I was rich,

I did not bother to keep you safe,

Don’t cry for me, India,

Let me cry for you today.



Even as a teacher,

when I should have been

educating the young,

I made them resentful,

By caning the boys and

Molesting the girls,

Don’t cry for me, India,

Let me cry for you today.



I never followed your rules,

But made my own,

You meant nothing to me,

Except just a country,

Where I happened to be born,

Yes, I did let you down,

Don’t cry for me, India,

Let me cry for you today.



Even as a politician,

When I should have been upholding your name,

I let you down for my personal gains,

For your honour meant nothing to me,

Parliament was just another,

Money making playground for me,

Don’t cry for me, India,

Let me cry for you today.



When friends asked me,

Which country I would prefer,

To be born into in the next life,

I chose the US or Europe,

Your name never came to my lips,

For you were never important to me,

Don’t cry for me, India,

Let me cry for you today.



I made my money,

On your benevolence,

Used it for my own benefit,

And not a penny for those,

Who had no shelter over their heads,

Nor a full meal in a day,

Don’t cry for me, India,

Let me cry for you today.



I made patriotism an old fashioned word,

And ‘foreign returned’ a fashionable one,

I aped the west and forgot the rest,

Your culture, your traditions,

Became foreign to me,

As I became a foreigner in my own land,

Don’t cry for me, India,

Let me cry for you today.



But you never did mind,

Never any sign of reaproach,

You took everything in your stride,

And continued to give more of you,

Welcomed me whenever I returned,

Consoled me whenver I needed,

For you were the mother,

Always giving, never asking,



On this day, 63 years ago, you became free,

Free from slavery, free from despair,

A beautiful country, forever free,

I promise today, on this independence day,

To never make you cry again,

For you are my most beloved mother,

Don’t cry for me, India,

Let me cry for you today.