15th August, 1947- India gained Independence.
15th August, 2015- 69th Indian Independence Day.
Whose independence are we celebrating? Does singing patriotic songs, playing them loudly in public places, and posting the Tricolor laden pictures on social networking sites mean celebration? How do we qualify to celebrate this freedom? So many questions! Let's try attempting to answer them.
We are celebrating the day our nation got free from the shackles of a foreign establishment. We are celebrating the political freedom that we received on this day in 1947. All of us study the Indian National Freedom struggle in school history textbooks for at least two years. Yet political freedom is all that we cherish. What about the social freedom? Do we enjoy these rights? I think not. For majority of the population still living on the brink of poverty and hunger, this freedom doesn't hold meaning. Sure they've got rights and protection accorded in the constitution, are they being realised in reality is the question and it will remain so for many more years to come. Honestly, its very fancy to write how proud are we of the soldiers on the border fronts and saluting them on this one day is also very easy. What really means being a soldier and protecting citizens, sitting on the fence with guns and ready to sacrifice his life for the unknown brothers and sisters of his motherland?
I have grown up listening to stories of war and peacetime missions, of warfare strategies and bravery in skies and on land. Now when I think of how men laid down their lives to protect Indian territories and terrain, it all seems like a brutal assault. Why do we still have to engage in war and lose our men? Why is our sense of 'narrow patriotism' overpowering our humane side?
Is there a concept of a just world? Can we fight injustice and inequality on the basis of democratic doctrines and bring peace to our people? Can we as a nation progress with these ideals of justice, equality and fraternity today with all the violence and instability in the world?
These are all questions that trouble my mind. The answers are sometimes affirmative, while many are more confusing. I suppose we live in an era where mere ideals will not suffice, but actions will lead us ahead.
15th August, 2015- 69th Indian Independence Day.
Whose independence are we celebrating? Does singing patriotic songs, playing them loudly in public places, and posting the Tricolor laden pictures on social networking sites mean celebration? How do we qualify to celebrate this freedom? So many questions! Let's try attempting to answer them.
We are celebrating the day our nation got free from the shackles of a foreign establishment. We are celebrating the political freedom that we received on this day in 1947. All of us study the Indian National Freedom struggle in school history textbooks for at least two years. Yet political freedom is all that we cherish. What about the social freedom? Do we enjoy these rights? I think not. For majority of the population still living on the brink of poverty and hunger, this freedom doesn't hold meaning. Sure they've got rights and protection accorded in the constitution, are they being realised in reality is the question and it will remain so for many more years to come. Honestly, its very fancy to write how proud are we of the soldiers on the border fronts and saluting them on this one day is also very easy. What really means being a soldier and protecting citizens, sitting on the fence with guns and ready to sacrifice his life for the unknown brothers and sisters of his motherland?
I have grown up listening to stories of war and peacetime missions, of warfare strategies and bravery in skies and on land. Now when I think of how men laid down their lives to protect Indian territories and terrain, it all seems like a brutal assault. Why do we still have to engage in war and lose our men? Why is our sense of 'narrow patriotism' overpowering our humane side?
Is there a concept of a just world? Can we fight injustice and inequality on the basis of democratic doctrines and bring peace to our people? Can we as a nation progress with these ideals of justice, equality and fraternity today with all the violence and instability in the world?
These are all questions that trouble my mind. The answers are sometimes affirmative, while many are more confusing. I suppose we live in an era where mere ideals will not suffice, but actions will lead us ahead.
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