Indian Independence Day – Relive the Fighting Spirit
All Indians know that the country achieved independence from British rule on August 15, 1947 and this year marks the 62nd year of independence! Many of us also know from the history books of our schools the recorded sacrifices that were made to regain the sovereignty of our homeland! Equally familiar is the fact that on this day the country celebrates this historic achievement in its usual and colorful ways! The national flag is flown in the national capital of New Delhi and in the various state capitals and union territories. The Prime Minister lists the achievements of the country since the last Independence Day, raises current and important national and sometimes international problems, and urges his fellow men to come together to solve them! Various cultural events and special shows are held to honor the surviving martyrs and freedom fighters. And so another Independence Day quietly comes to an end, the same day our forefathers and great leaders of pre-independent India dreamed of. But for us it is just one more national holiday, a mere show of pageantry, special programs on television, everything but an occasion to celebrate the spirit of independence and to revive and revive the fighting spirit.
Why should we fight today? And against whom? Or why fight? Well, in my opinion we should ask ourselves why we have stopped the fight. After all, we have so many annoying problems, big and small, all around us! Is not? Unfortunately, today we have ‘learned to live’ with these problems and as long as they do not make a ‘severe’ dent in our personal lives, we just don’t care! But have we ever wondered where we went wrong! I know this will start the blame game! There is corruption, redtapism that slows development, and there are no good politicians, there are no leaders, there is no vision, there are no resources, and so on! But do we also realize that we too are responsible for this sorry state of affairs? Everyone knows that there cannot be an overnight change, but I hope we agree that there has to be some beginning somewhere.
Independence vs freedom
What is independence and what is freedom? For most of us, political independence is freedom enough! The term ‘independence’ and the sense of ‘being independent’ has overshadowed the fight for freedom waged by our leaders and compatriots. What they were looking for was an independent India and, more than that, the “freedom” to rule ourselves and be dictated by some foreign force! Unfortunately, we have achieved political independence, but only a certain degree of real freedom. True freedom is what will make our country a strong and united India! And each of us should fight for it now!
Take, for example, personal freedom, a freedom that can be exercised by one individual without violating the freedom of the other person. In short, the freedom to express my views, do my own thing without hurting the feelings, feelings and feelings of others. It is part of the civil liberties that protect an individual from the government of the resident nation that places limits on him so that he cannot abuse his power and unduly interfere with the lives of his citizens. Now how many of us can proudly say that we enjoy complete personal freedom in our ‘independent’ country? I do not question here the rights of the government to uphold the law of the land or to punish the guilty and provide protection to its citizens. Every government has the right to do that! But this is more about apathy, the government and some individuals and groups, in the name of caste, religion, tradition and gender that directly or indirectly violates my personal freedom to express my views or do my own thing! It is an irony that only a few have personal freedom, which is only misused to restrict the freedom of others. More unwritten and unspoken laws are followed here than the usual ones written in bound books, which are almost never followed. Many of our laws are only ‘said’ in the right spirit, but they are not ‘done’ in the right way.
The full exercise of rights is not allowed
Similarly, we do not fully enjoy civil rights, social rights, cultural rights, and the rights to quality health, quality education, and advocacy, to name a few. Even the right to vote has often not been allowed to be exercised in the way we want, and it goes without saying that the right to education is dictated by castes and money. Many are denied quality health services. Everything has a high price! There may be various reasons for this, but unfortunately our ‘silent murmurs’ are only making things worse.
How many of us can proudly say that we enjoy all of these rights to the fullest! From obtaining a birth certificate for our babies, to school and college admissions, and to getting the jobs we deserve, we are committed to everything. This commitment is not the ‘ahimsa’ that Mahatma Gandhi advocated; This is the typical ‘meek’ that surrenders to the apathy of the few bad elements in society! Of course, there will be very few out there who have not experienced officer apathy at some point. But that’s only a handful of the population! Most of us still don’t know our rights, even in everyday affairs! Even after 62 years of autonomous and independent India, we cannot exercise our rights and do things the way they should be done! On the surface, India has improved by leaps and bounds in many fields. The quality of life has improved, but unfortunately the quality of “life” has not. Many of us don’t even realize that in some parts of the country, away from our busy cities and our supposed social conscience, some people still fight for some basic things, not with the British Empire but with the Indian government.
Wake up, India!
It is surprising that we have not realized the seriousness of the situation in which we find ourselves. Or is it as if we have meekly surrendered to official apathy and become numb to the problems around us? Or is it simply because we have lost the fighting spirit shown by our leaders and millions of citizens of pre-independence India against the British? It may be, it is a bit of all of them. The freedom struggle for independent India was not written by Gandhi and Nehru and other leaders only, there were millions of people who rose up at that time to fight. The only reason was that they wanted to be the masters of their own destiny, to help themselves and the country, the most important person that each of us is missing today! What we need today is freedom, freedom in all spectra and at all levels, and political independence is just the beginning. If this happens, India will be a real force to be reckoned with!