No. I’m not going to wish you a HAPPY independence day. A morning spent lazing around and watching the parade on TV, with etymology roiling about in my head, has convinced me that there’s really not much to be HAPPY about...
The word ‘independence’ is derived from the Latin root dependre meaning ‘to hang’, combined with the prefix in- meaning ‘not’. So basically independence means ‘not hanging’. What India is “NOT HANGING” from is the question. My analysis:
15th August, 1947 onwards, we ceased to hang like marionettes from the strings of the British. We got an ‘independent’ government, with the power to make its own decisions and mould the nation’s future. That was about it. To be more precise, 15th August 15, 1947 was THE Independence Day from the British Raj. Period. I see no reason to celebrate every 15th August ever since as THE Independence Day. Call it THE “Independence-from-Brits” Day. (Note here that I'm not claiming that I give a rat's whisker to HOW we fought to get this independence from the goras).
Circa 15thAugust, 2008, our nation still hangs from several strings of bondage. Independence Day remains a misnomer.
Rigorous Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan’s and Each One Teach One’s have seen to the rise of literacy, but not of real education in the country, which is, to use a clichéd set of terms, rather much of a bane than a boon. Cultured EDUCATION and awareness of social responsibility still remain a distant dream for Indian nationals, including even the most ‘educationally’ qualified people.
Why do the inhabitants of this nation require (an admittedly cute) Mr. Bindra to boost their self-esteem amidst the nations of the world? Why do they need (a blatantly raucous) Rang De Basanti to infuse patriotism in their hearts. Why the low self esteem?
Everybody complains about corrupt politicians, but nobody hesitates to shell out Rs 700 to speed up the process of getting a domicile certificate or some such document in babudom.
And why in the wide world do social service groups seem to be doing the right things for all the wrong reasons??? The people who do attempt to do the (wrong or) right things for the right reasons, are scorned by society. Why? Isn’t it very clear from recent political decisions, that India is still, wringing and dangling off the arms of the G5 like a school going kid? Is it just an illusion that most of the great minds of India harbor desires to study abroad? And work abroad? And raise their kids abroad? The words BMW and Maruti cannot appear in the same sentence, except in comparisons, where the former comes out tops.
Despite knowing all this, can we say we are truly independent? Are we free from all sorts of strings attached to our country and our image? Are we really using this ‘independence’ to mould the future of Indian society? Are we really INDEPENDENT?
2 comments:
I agree with u on all counts.India is not yet free.
It it's shameful that the country that claims its national game as hockey hasn't even qualified for the Olympics.Yes,we need men like Abhinav Bindra to boost us up constantly.
Everybody complains about the govt being corrupted but what on a basic,dad-to-day level are the citizens themselves doing?Are they helping the system in anyway?Do they even try to?It's easy to blame others than to take on the responsibilities.
People want clean cities,but they will still throw the Lays wrapper on the road anyway.After all,the muncipalty will clean it up later.That's what they're paid for,right?The blame does not lie on the system alone.
Yes,the govt IS faulty.Yes, it is sad that in a country with the 2nd largest population,we only got one medal(gold or no gold) in the olympics.It is sad that the govt. doesn't provide sufficient funds & training for professional sports.It is sad that so many talented people are not given the opportunity here.Look at Mr.Bindra, he had the money to get trained-the govt. had nothing to do with his win but it will still try to credit.Why aren't we,the citizens,crying out for a better system?And not just crying out,making it possible?
hence, i advise: stop whining, start contesting elections....politics is not a business for a handful of goons....it's our duty!
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