Yesterday, it was the 15th of August. A proud moment for all my Indian as well as Korean friends as on this day, these two countries had received independence from foreign domination. Don't really know about Korea, but in India, this day was celebrated. Celebrated? Is that the right word which I am using now?
I belong from a small city in West Bengal in India. Its Durgapur. And even in a small city like this, I had seen flag hoists organized by the people living in practically each and every streets. So, going by normal views, shouldn't we come to the conclusion that we Indians are too nationalistic and are proud of our nation,we organize flag hoists, sing the national Anthem, observe a moment of silence for all those who had laid down their lives to achieve this status.. bla bla bla. I am afraid i need to use this term bla here because this is nothing but sheer pretence. Does singing the National Anthem, observing a moment of silence and so on and so forth really show how proud are we of our nation. Truth be told, this is just a picture which vividly shows that yeah, I am an Indian. On the strike of midnight of 15th of August,in 1947, the famous personality Mr. Jawaharlal Nehrue, a famous politician of the time had declared that our country is no more dominated by the ruthless Britishers after sacrificing so much. That was the day of historical importance.
Today, even after 67 years of independence, on the arrival of the 15th of August, we repeat the same actions to show respect towards our national flag and towards the nation. Is respect all that a nations needs on the 15th of August? Is it not important to love your nation every single day? Isn't it our job to be proud of the fact that yes, we are Indians everyday? Then why show on a single day or rather only on two specific days in an year( the 15th of august and on the 26th of January)? Is their any hard and fast rule that you can be nationalistic only on these two specific days and abuse the people of India and its conditions in the rest?
Is that all our Nationalistic attitude means to us?
Again, 67 years back, when India had finally become free of Foreign domination, true that not only did the leaders of a newly born independent country dream of a better India, but all the commoners dreamt of it too. Are we really better off today? Well this is one of the best debatable topics which one can discuss among his 'debate lover' friends. Some would say,"Yes ofcourse! We have developed a lot. What don't we have in India today? Starting from Bridges to roads to hi-tech machinery to concerned government, shopping malls! Perhaps, the list continues!" Some would say" despite of the economic development, surely many people have benefited. Yet, how can we forget about those who find no place in the society? How can we not remember those people who contribute to the society, work for the society yet remain suppressed by hypocrites? Surely, India has gone down the scale in terms of its morale" . Well, as far as the debate is concerned, most of us would be in support of the development in the country. Would we even bother to look at the other aspect poverty, raging anger, misconduct of powers, abuse, crime and perhaps activities which harm the society and are increasing everyday on the scale? Most of us wont.
Someone had said," look at the bigger and brighter aspect. Do not focus on the negatives". True it is. But, does that solve the problem of the society? Can it feed those who starve to death everyday? Can it satisfy those who dont even have the luck to drink pure and clean water? Surely it wont. And we dont bother to ponder over these questions.Yet, a person, who would be a true Indian at heart, wont just love and respect the Indian flag,but will repsect all its people and moreover love them too. He will strive to achieve perfection in anything he does as was once dreamt by the revolutionary poet Rabindranath Tagore. A true Indian will not remain suppressed by the hypocrites but will be brave enough to show that he has the courage to protest against all the evils of the society. A true citizen will try to make every tiny aspect which concerns his mother India perfect. He would be a true son of the country.
Back in the 1940s, social evils existed in the form of Sati, child marriage, female infanticide, society stratification, demeaning the poor and the list goes on. Is it any better today? Today, in the 21st 'modern' society, these evils still exist but some have been replaced by Rape, murders, sexual abuse and once again the list goes on. A true Indian will not be afraid to raise his voice against someone who is a victim of these evils and does not have any blood relation with him. What do we do after the flag hoist in every street of India? Fold it, pack it up and throw it away in some store room. Or even a worse scenario, we see them lying on the roads just as the sun of the same day goes below the horizon. And then, the hooligans find an ocassion to celebrate by moving around and spending extravagantly . Is this the sign of a true Indian?
After so many years, we have come across our current elected Prime Minister who is not bothered of his safety and is concerned about his people. He isn't bothered of having bullet resisting enclosures while he is delivering his speech but is concerned to enlighten the people of the country of his policies to create a better India.We can expect him to be a true son of the country if he doesnt choose to rely on the fame and forget his responsibilities.
Lastly, quoting some of the famous lines from one of my favorite poem composed by Rabindranath Tagore:
"Where the mind is without fear and the head held high
where knowledge is free
where the world has not been broken into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where the clear stream of logic
has not lost its way into the dreary desert of dead habit"
...
True it is. And I feel, each and every India should try achieving the above aims as stated by this famous poet .
Then what is it to do with any other Independence day or Republic Day, each and every day can be celebrated with the developing nationalistic attitude of people, in love with their nation!
With this hope, I wish everyone a Happy Independence Day!
