Is it just me, or are we stuck in a cycle that nobody wants to break?

I'm 19 years old and from Punjab. Lately, I've been thinking a lot about where our country is headed, and honestly, it makes me feel very sad

Before anyone turns this into a political debate, I'm not blaming just one party. This has become a pattern across Indian politics.

Punjab is already under heavy debt, yet political parties continue to compete over who can promise bigger freebies. The current government provides things like free electricity (up to a certain limit), free bus travel for women, and now cash assistance for women. The opposition responds by promising even larger cash transfers if they come to power. Instead of competing over improving infrastructure, education, healthcare, or job creation, it feels like they're competing over who can distribute more benefits before elections.

One thing that especially frustrates me is the education system.

My mother is a government school teacher, so I get to hear what actually happens behind the scenes. Politicians proudly claim Punjab has one of the best education systems in India, but the reality doesn't always match the headlines. Teachers are constantly assigned election duty, census work, surveys, and other government tasks. Sometimes they're away from classrooms for weeks.

There's also a rule that students cannot be failed until Class 8, no matter how little they study or perform academically. The high pass percentages may look impressive on paper, but they're a white lie if students aren't actually learning.

Another thing that comes to my mind is that many Indians who become successful don't try to fight corruption they try to escape it. If someone earns enough money, they move to expensive gated societies. In Delhi, many people aspire to live in places like South Delhi. Many retirees move to cities like Chandigarh. The same pattern exists in Mumbai and other major cities. And honestly, I don't even blame them. When corruption exists at so many levels, most people feel it's easier to upgrade their own lives than to spend years trying to change a broken system.

Then I ask myself another question: why would people even fight for the rest of society when basic civic behaviour itself is such a struggle?

Get into a road accident even if it's not your fault and there's a good chance the other person starts arguing instead of resolving the issue. Book a train or bus seat, and someone else is already sitting there, forcing you to argue for the seat you paid for. Sleeper and 3AC coaches often end up feeling overcrowded. People litter roads, spit on walls, urinate in public, ignore queues, and treat public property as if it belongs to no one. Crime is another issue that constantly makes headlines.

I know these problems don't represent every Indian. There are millions of honest, hardworking, and responsible people. But sometimes it feels like the people doing the right thing are carrying the weight of a system that rewards the wrong incentives.

Because of all this, I'm doing everything I can to build a career that gives me the option to leave India. Not because I hate my country, but because I genuinely struggle to see how these issues get solved when every election seems to revolve around short-term promises instead of long-term reforms.

Looking at all of this sometimes the statement "india is doomed" starts to feel kinda real