I
take pride in being an Indian. In every situation the Country faces, I see that
I have an equal hand to play, if in silence or in protest. I blame the system
and in turn myself for making it a mere puppet at the hands of a paltry 1% or
less. On the eve of the 65th Birthday of my Country I shall again stand up at
the Nation Anthem and feel the surge of patriotism that has been infused in me
through inspiration of leaders who sacrificed their life for giving us freedom.
Thus 15th August is a moment of pride for all of us and rightfully earns a
place in History. There were countless soldiers to this movement and handful
leaders who also hold their respective places, some in monuments, others in
freedom fighters list of Government for benefits and others in some old age homes and forgotten. I bow to each of them for
leading this great nation to a fate which without their support might not have
been achieved.
Circa,
today. What happened post 15th August 1947. Post Nehru-Sardar Patel-Rajendra
Prasad regime and till an extent Indira Gandhi. I was born much later and since
I understood leaders and leadership, I have been told about the greatness of
Gandhi-Nehru-Sardar Patel-Lal-Bal-Pal-Bhagat Singh etc. Their sacrifices, their
way of life and how we must all inculcate the same. The other motivations for
living a Good Life and being exceptional and leading that are given are that of
Lord Krishna, Lord Rama etc. of Gods who are in one sense mythical.
Respectfully I would like to submit none of them have I witnessed in person.
Where are my real life role models? I am not Vishnu incarnate and the Country
is no longer a colony, but there are several other factors plaguing the nation
for which I am sure people are working. But in the last 30years I have not seen
an inspiration being glorified for fighting corruption or for fighting against
untouchability. Where is our Abraham Lincoln or Martin Luther King, busy
hoarding money in Swiss Banks? The Country undoubtedly has a rich heritage, but
what is the present, what are the youngsters learning? Short tempers, ugly
fights, broad daylight murders, rape, these are everyday incident, and we don’t
even pay attention to such details any more. This is young India of today. How
and when will we grow? What is the big picture?
In
the chaos and madness, we have forgotten to appreciate those who raise their
voices. We are learning that they should be silenced, either by force or by
money. I am not praising other nations; I am just dumbfounded as to where we
are headed? We are forced to attend flag hoisting functions right from school,
to inculcate in us the sense of patriotism. Does this forced sense of
patriotism actually in any way help me? Or is it just a couple of us wanting to
harp our own trumpets? We are exploiting the nation, democracy and our right to
be humans.
My question to the Independent Nation is, when will we learn to Govern ovrselves, and then call ourselves Independent, patriotic individuals. Till then, let us stand up and salute the National Flag and remind ourselves that the founders of the Nation wanted us to move ahead. Wishing everyone a very Happy Independence Day! Let us strive to be better if not the best!
**Image Courtsey, Google Images
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