there is diaspora india which doesnt even live in india and call centre india which lives in india but works in a different time zone otherwise how are we to get on with the neverending job of change and progressshould what holds true for individuals also hold true for a collectivity of individuals known as a nationstate and 58 is as good a time to start as any in short they get retired there is the missing india of female infanticide when employed individuals reach the age of 58 they are patted on the back by their employers handed a watch as a token of appreciation for their years of service and shown the door there is caste india creed india tribal india and techy india ridiculous idea nationstates like individuals are not immutable monuments or statues this seeming paradox of global agglomeration and mergers on the one hand and national splits and breakaways on the other can perhaps be better understood if we take the analogy of individuals before and after retirement in other words individuals adapt to new circumstances by redefining who and what they are in relationship to the rest of the world and themselves of course a nationstate cant retire or can itsome would say the very concept of the nation born some 250odd years ago as a byblow of europes industrial revolution has been retired a while except it has yet to realise it they are changeable narratives who make themselves up as they go along others who may have worked alone or with small groups find themselves involved postretirement in far larger collectives such as social service or congregational religion the old order must give way to the new yet in its short span as a nation though not as a civilisation india has spun so many stories about itself created so many indias at 58 india is almost ridiculously young as a nation there is gen next india which leave alone the mahatma doesnt even know who ben kingsley is and has never heard of the movie can one fiveletter word spell out so many stories and more are in the pipeline we nations and people are the sum of the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves there is urban india and rural india divided by a gulf that the congress is planning to spend rs 150000 crore to bridge retirement for individuals is in the natural and inevitable course of things from 72 in 1900 the number of nationstates in the world has grown to over 190 as of last count curiously enough even as the idea of the nationstate is being reassessed nationstates themselves are proliferating like jackrabbits how does it go from there even a mere stripling like new world america is a 200yearplus dotard in comparison in an age of continentspanning and identitychallenging multinational corporations and globalisation the nationstate is beginning to look more and more like the doddering old family retainer long past his