Today, 26th of January, 2011, we celebrate the 61st anniversary of the wedding of our nation with its own sovereign constitution. On a personal note, I have always felt proud of our belief in the virtues of our freedom fighters and leaders, who paved the way for the creation of the Republic of India. I am also aware that most of us, including me, have grown to look upon it as a day of relaxation and leisure. Perhaps because we are far removed from the circumstances surrounding the events of India's struggle for freedom.
The Outlook is carrying a special Republic day edition with the cover story written by the acclaimed author Ramachandra Guha (worth a read). Guha argues that India was looked upon as an experiment which was bound to fail according to our British rulers. The reason- India was too large a geography to fall under a single umbrella law, or to be governed by an impartial government. Of course, we survived, and how? I will quickly lay out 3 recent incidents signifying the bewilderment which arises when one looks at the myriad of socio-economic problems surrounding our country.
1. An additional district collector, Yeshwant Sonawane, was ruthlessly burnt alive in Malegaon yesterday. He joins the list of Satyendra Dubey and S. Manjunath and other anonymous citizens, people who had to sacrifice their lives because they dared to question the prevailing ignominy of corruption!
2. The proposed flag hoisting ceremony by the BJP in the heart of Srinagar, Lal Chowk, has been forcefully abrogated. By whom? The state government and the GOI. under what pretense? We cannot ensure the security of the leaders of this march, and that it might inflame the already combustible atmosphere of Kashmir. Dear Dr. Singh, if the situation in Kashmir is so helpless that hoisting the national flag in the territory of India can inflame the feelings of the residents of Kashmir, perhaps it's time to rethink on how we look upon Kashmir in general? It is as ridiculous as saying that a person cannot drink in Gujarat because Mahatma Gandhi chanced to be born in the state.
3. How proud are we of our diversity? Very much so, right? Well, the general dismay on the faces of our side of the family at the short and rather unglamorous wedding rituals of Kerala, and the shock on the faces of the groom's side of the family, when relative after relative of mine kept on handing gifts and sweet to the groom before the bidai, told another story! It was fun to witness this as a neutral third party observer (I was neither pro-, nor against this wedding), but I am pretty sure that people from both families must have wondered how big and diverse our nation really is!
What can be the take-home lesson from these different incidents? Certainly, India is big, but nowhere close to the size of China or the US. We have corruption, but there are even more corrupt nations in the world, and that in spite of this corruption, India has boomeranged into the upper echelons of global economy. And people have different voices, different opinions, but every single voice should not be turned into the word of law. Strong policy, strong ethics and a stronger nation, all go hand in hand.
Jai hind!
No comments:
Post a Comment