“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high, ….. into that heaven of freedom my Father, let my country awake.” 15th of August, 1947, is a red letter day in the history of India. It was on this day that Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru was sworn in as our 1st Prime minister. Our leaders had sacrificed much to gain independence from the British. The year 1947, and subsequent years saw a lot of bloodshed as a result of the partition of India into two separate nations based on religion – India and Pakistan. Years later, when things finally settled down, people started realizing the opportunities they could take advantage of, being citizens of a democratic country. 63 years later, we, the future of our great nation, stand here today to applaud and commemorate their wonderful contributions.
BUT, one question that comes to the mind when we seriously think about the literal concept of independence is, are we actually independent? Are we actually being allowed to live up to the expectations of our martyrs and utilize the available opportunities for the benefit of the nation at large? Or are we mere puppets in the hands of a few politicians who have infiltrated the so-called democracy with their so very autocratic ideas? Gender and caste discrimination has considerably decreased, the country is secure on the food aspect, literacy rate has considerably increased, but still, the rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer. Most people, at the grass root level, are not able to maintain a nutritious diet because of the herculean increase in prices of general commodities. On the other hand, we see people from the richer strata of society wasting food, wasting money, disrespecting the added advantage they have got of being born into a financially secure family. Is this independence? Does this depict equality?
The constitution says that India is a democracy. A democracy is a political institution which is for the people, of the people and by the people. Look around and ponder. Is it actually so? Or are we being dominated by those in power? We very easily make fleeting comments like politics is a gutter, it is dirty, I don’t want to join politics. And then we say that our nation is being ruled by goons. We, as the next generation, need to realize that we have to be in the system to change the system. Only pitying on the state of our country and doing nothing about it won’t help.
India is a country with a very rich heritage. It is perhaps the only country which has 18 major languages and over 600 dialects. This very country saw the beginning of the green, white and blue revolutions. We should be proud of what we possess and should work towards polishing it for turning our country into a developed nation by 2020, as Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam had very fondly envisioned. And we need to do this NOW, as ONE nation. Let us take the pledge to make full use of our opportunities and propel the country towards being another major super power in the world. Jai Hind.
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