By Naushad A. Panjwani, President
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Dear members of BCAS family,
On this 15th August, after a long time, I wasn’t enjoying my usual Independence Day holiday. No movie, picnic, cards or eating out. Instead, I was in Jaipur, hosting the BCAS ITF Conference. I was going over the arrangements for the conference with Nitin Shingala and the other coordinators. As we went to inspect one of the open air venues, we saw the Indian flag fluttering in a wet Jaipur morning. The hotel staff had just concluded the flag hoisting ceremony. I instantly rued the missed opportunity of being there. Gosh! I hadn’t attended a flag hoisting ceremony in so many years.
The realisation shamed me. A volley of thoughts ran through my mind, all of them violently shaking me up. Last month, I had attended a celebration of the US Independence Day in India. The joy and vigour with which it was being celebrated in India amazed me. And here I was, an Indian, in India, but not a witness to any flag hoisting, national anthem singing or celebrations. To be honest, there wasn’t any joy that I was feeling on this occasion. Does it mean that I and others who felt like me are not patriotic?
I love my country. I get goose bumps when I hear or recite our national anthem. I am fiercely protective of anyone criticising my country (and unfortunately, it is fellow Indians who criticise the most). If this is not patriotism, then what is?
But I don’t feel any different on the Independence Day than any other day. It may not appeal to you and I apologise for the same, but this is an honest confession. Is it just me not valuing my independence or is it because I don’t feel independent in an independent India? On 15th August 1947, we gained ‘Independence’ from the British Raj. We were earlier ruled by someone we did not choose, we now get to elect the people who rule us. That bit has surely changed. Let us think back on how that has changed India…
History tells us that under the British Rule, we were suppressed, oppressed and exploited. Even today, there is abject poverty, lawlessness, corruption, communalism, casteism, rising crimes against women and children, hunger, exploitation and what not. I wonder if those affected by these factors feel ‘Independent’. How does a child, deprived of her right to education, enjoy her independence? What does Independence mean to the scores of children suffering from malnutrition or to the farmers who committed suicide out of poverty?
We have read that under the British Rule, we toiled to fill the Queen’s coffers. Is our toiling to fill Swiss Bank lockers any different?
We were fighting for Independence from the British Raj then. Most of us continue to fight for independence from corruption, poverty, crime, lawlessness and communalism. Some fight for a separate state and some for autonomy. Some through agitation and some through violence. I fear that at this rate, we may be on the way to become the next USSR.
Today’s “freedom fighters” (the conscience keepers) are won over by fear, force or just lured. The Press had no freedom then. Today this ‘freedom’ can be bought over. There were communities that were suppressed then. After six decades of independence, they still cry ‘reservations’.
Think honestly, how many of us really celebrate the Independence Day? Some old timers maybe, but what about the youth? Is Valentine’s Day celebrated more?
On the economic front, many opine that we have gone back to the scenario similar to that prevalent in the preliberalisation days. On the socio-political front have we gone back to the pre-Independence days? Is this state of mind on account of the events of the last few years?
This year’s front page news was about the mumbling PM and grumbling PM-in-waiting. Will next year’s front page news be about the roaring Indians and soaring Economy? Will we see true freedom soon? Freedom from oppression, suppression, corruption, poverty, illiteracy, inequality, hatred and hostility? This Independence Day I didn’t sing Tagore’s National Anthem. But I did read his Gitanjali as a prayer.
Jana Gana ManaThou art the rulers of the minds of all people,
dispenser of India’s destiny.
Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sind, Gujarat
and Maratha,
Of the Dravida and Orissa and Bengal;
It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas,
mingles in the music of Yamuna and Ganga and is
chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea.
They pray for thy blessings and sing thy praise.
The saving of all people waits in thy hand,
thou art the dispenser of India’s destiny,
Victory, victory, victory to thee.
Gitanjali
Where The Mind Is Without Fear
Where the mind is without fear and the head is
held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into
fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards
perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its
way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my
country awake.
I look forward to the day when we celebrate our Independence day with pride, joy and in complete freedom. This is possible. Possible if we the citizens dream it, wish, desire, toil and command it. It will happen. Hopefully soon.
Here’s wishing everyone happiness and love.
With Warm Regards
Naushad A. Panjwani
