India Today CVoter Mood of the Nation poll 2013

Heart of the matter

India specialises in contradictions. It's a nation that stands up for the rights of its women but is offended by sexual choices that don't fit into the acceptable moral straitjacket. A nation that considers waning star Sania Mirza the greatest non-cricketing sportsperson of this generation though she hasn't won a major tournament in years, but doesn't even pause at the mention of legends Leander Paes and Mary Kom.

A people whose collective heart continues to beat for Salman Khan, never mind that he hasn't released a movie in over a year while others who share his trade, and surname, have shattered box-office records. Deepika Padukone had four blockbusters in 2013, yet she is only second best to Katrina Kaif as India's favourite heroine. This sentimentality, however, belies an engagement with matters of import; half the people polled approve of stricter laws to curb crime against women though most are convinced that amending laws alone, without changing mindsets, won't solve the problem.

It's such paradoxes staring out of the India Today Group-CVoter Mood of the Nation Poll that make India at once fascinating and unpredictable.

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