(Disclaimer: You may find it odd at the end of the article, that me sitting in UK am writing such a blog. But however hypocritical it may seem to you (if it does), I mean it completely and my future intentions are clear to me. You have the choice to read further or ignore it completely - I would respect your intellectual capacity to have done the right thing.)
Its 15th August again... The day we Indians refer to as Independence day. In those good old days 61 years ago, they won their independence from the 'evil' British government. In their fight to rule themselves, they figured out a lot of other things. They saw revolutionaries, they saw pacifists, they saw martyrs and they saw negotiators. They saw men who fought till their death, they saw the test of endurance and justice. They saw the light of eternal glory in the form of one tenacious achievement.
We must learn from their stories. We must look up to the incidents as a rule book, and not forget it the day after our history exam. We must adopt the theories they defended and died for. Be it be the non-violent movement of Mahatma Gandhi or the revolutionary impactful methods of Bhagat Singh, the political methods of Netaji Bose or the intellectual warfare of the great Gurudev Tagore and Mahakavi Bharati. In fact the fight for Indian Independaence was like a textbook of philosophies. Unlike other revolutions which were merely based on brute force and might, the Indian Independence was full of character and stories. Like any epic stories like the Mahabharata, the Indian Independence story is full of lessons to be tapped and used in our day to day life.
But who were these freedom fighters? Where were they born? What made them so different? What food did they eat or which water did they drink? A question which we can answer so logically, yet give so many metaphors. They were people who learnt their purpose. The people who understood that it takes immense courage to stand up against what they think was going wrong and spoeak up. They were those who sacrificed their comforts and took up social deeds. They were people who started their revolution in small ways made a difference. They were people who did NOT question the purpose of fighting for the right cause, and did NOT look for any personal returns. It was every Indian, every Pakistani, every Bangladeshi, every Nepali and every Burmese. They were common men like you and me. They were university students, professionals, doctors, engineers, lawyers and politicians. They were people who also had personal commitments, financial problems, domestic problems and thier own means of livelihood.
If they could rise together when time came, why cant that be learnt as a lesson and be used in our daily life. Why cant we bother to give back something to our country. Why cant we bother to vote for a leader and take some responsibility. If we talk about bad politicians, why cant we take their place instead? Why cant we clean our own roads off all the dirt and grime - figuratively and literally. Why do we still blame each other for the bad and fight for the good name in things that have turned out well. Why cant we as a country with so much youth do something to change the country?
Is it difficult to make changes in your own profession, field of study or daily life for making the nation better. If you think the country does not deserve that, well think again. You are right now in a position to read this on you personal computer, with the means of communication, means of subsistence to afford it and an intellect from the education it has provided to you. It deserves better.
There is no point just knowing the national anthem and the pledge. There is no point in just cheering for India during cricket. This is an appeal to pledge to do atleast one significant thing for your country in your whole life. A pledge to treat everyday as a day of emergency and work towards saving its integrity. A pledge to aspire to act than just to speak.
On this note... I shall leave you to your thoughts and your country!
Jai Hind
Its 15th August again... The day we Indians refer to as Independence day. In those good old days 61 years ago, they won their independence from the 'evil' British government. In their fight to rule themselves, they figured out a lot of other things. They saw revolutionaries, they saw pacifists, they saw martyrs and they saw negotiators. They saw men who fought till their death, they saw the test of endurance and justice. They saw the light of eternal glory in the form of one tenacious achievement.
We must learn from their stories. We must look up to the incidents as a rule book, and not forget it the day after our history exam. We must adopt the theories they defended and died for. Be it be the non-violent movement of Mahatma Gandhi or the revolutionary impactful methods of Bhagat Singh, the political methods of Netaji Bose or the intellectual warfare of the great Gurudev Tagore and Mahakavi Bharati. In fact the fight for Indian Independaence was like a textbook of philosophies. Unlike other revolutions which were merely based on brute force and might, the Indian Independence was full of character and stories. Like any epic stories like the Mahabharata, the Indian Independence story is full of lessons to be tapped and used in our day to day life.
But who were these freedom fighters? Where were they born? What made them so different? What food did they eat or which water did they drink? A question which we can answer so logically, yet give so many metaphors. They were people who learnt their purpose. The people who understood that it takes immense courage to stand up against what they think was going wrong and spoeak up. They were those who sacrificed their comforts and took up social deeds. They were people who started their revolution in small ways made a difference. They were people who did NOT question the purpose of fighting for the right cause, and did NOT look for any personal returns. It was every Indian, every Pakistani, every Bangladeshi, every Nepali and every Burmese. They were common men like you and me. They were university students, professionals, doctors, engineers, lawyers and politicians. They were people who also had personal commitments, financial problems, domestic problems and thier own means of livelihood.
If they could rise together when time came, why cant that be learnt as a lesson and be used in our daily life. Why cant we bother to give back something to our country. Why cant we bother to vote for a leader and take some responsibility. If we talk about bad politicians, why cant we take their place instead? Why cant we clean our own roads off all the dirt and grime - figuratively and literally. Why do we still blame each other for the bad and fight for the good name in things that have turned out well. Why cant we as a country with so much youth do something to change the country?
Is it difficult to make changes in your own profession, field of study or daily life for making the nation better. If you think the country does not deserve that, well think again. You are right now in a position to read this on you personal computer, with the means of communication, means of subsistence to afford it and an intellect from the education it has provided to you. It deserves better.
There is no point just knowing the national anthem and the pledge. There is no point in just cheering for India during cricket. This is an appeal to pledge to do atleast one significant thing for your country in your whole life. A pledge to treat everyday as a day of emergency and work towards saving its integrity. A pledge to aspire to act than just to speak.
On this note... I shall leave you to your thoughts and your country!
Jai Hind
