"Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.
A moment comes which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, then an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity. At the dawn of history India started on her unending quest, and trackless centuries are filled with her striving and the grandeur of her successes and her failures. Through good and ill fortune alike she has never lost sight of that quest or forgotten the ideals which gave her strength. We end today a period of ill fortune and India discovers herself again.
The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity, to the greater triumphs and achievements that await us. Are we brave enough and wise enough to grasp this opportunity and accept the challenge of the future? Freedom and power bring responsibility. That responsibility rests upon this assembly, a sovereign body representing the sovereign people of India. Before the birth of freedom we have endured all the pains of labour and our hearts are heavy with the memory of this sorrow. Some of those pains continue even now.
Nevertheless, the past is over and it is the future that beckons to us now. That future is not one of ease or resting but of incessant striving so that we might fulfill the pledges we have so often taken and the one we shall take today. The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity. The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye. That may be beyond us but so long as there are tears and suffering, so long our work will not be over. And so we have to labour and to work, and work hard, to give reality to our dreams. Those dreams are for India, but they are also for the world, for all the nations and peoples are too closely knit together today for any one of them to imagines that it can live apart."
- Prime Minister Nehru , 15th August 1947
August 15th, 2006 : 59 years later...
I'm rudely woken up by my mom, who was shouting from the living room asking me to get up and join her in watching the idiot box. As I drag myself out of the bed wondering what this was all about, the importance of the day dawns upon me...It's a holiday of course... but then, why the heck do I have to get up at 7am?? In a few minutes, I'm in the living room...As groggy as I was then, I can make out the visuals of the Red Fort on TV. The numerous fluttering tri-colours are hard to miss...
Now I knew what this was all about. Its India's Independence Day... reason enough to celebrate, don't you think? Of course it is, it's a holiday...time for some "masti"...and time to catch up on some lost sleep too... As annoyed as I was on being woken up, I decided to keep watching the 'live' broadcast of the proceedings from the 17th century Red Fort.
On the top of the TV screen, I can clearly see the logo of Doordarshan- "DD National (Live)"...Hmm...when was the last time I tuned in to DD? Must have been on January 26th-the Republic Day... It surely reminded me of the hey-days of the national broadcaster, when shows on national integration were quite popular. Globalization and competition sure have hit Prasar Bharati hard, I must say...As I continued watching the live feed, I could see our turbaned Prime Minister being received by the "Raksha Mantriji"... The Sardarji soon makes his way on to the ramparts of the Red Fort and unfurls the "Rashtriya Dhwaj" which is followed by an impressive rendition of the "Rashtriya gaan"... with a 21-gun salute in the background. Quite a proud moment, I must admit. I was on my feet in a trice in response to the national anthem that was being played as a mark of respect. Through the corner of the eye, I could definitely see my mom looking at me in mock surprise.
The national anthem over, I sat down on the sofa only to feel extremely embarrassed and sheepish... now that was a first!!! I was actually ashamed of myself...for showing respect to the national anthem! What was I thinking? In those moments while the national anthem was being played, I had been "possessed" by a wave of patriotic fervour and nationalism. My generation- the iPod generation would probably consider my act of obeisance as "blasphemous".
Soon the blue-turbaned Sardarji was addressing the nation that had just turned 59. Repeated invocations of Congress prime ministers like "Pandit Nehru", "Indiramma"and "Rajiv-ji" did not surprise me the least. A certain Italian woman seated in the VVIP gallery must have been a pleased person though her expression was stoic. After all, sycophancy runs deep in the Indian psyche, and we Indians revel in it.
After what seemed like hours, the PM's speech came to a close, marking the end of the Independence Day celebrations.
As I made my way back to my bedroom, one thought was deeply bothering me.Well, to say that it was only bothering me would be an understatement. It was in fact haunting me.
What exactly does the Independence Day signify ? Is it just about a national holiday? Or is it something more meaningful? What does "freedom" mean to us? Are we indeed "free"?There were no easy answers for this. All I could do then was to switch on my PC, and look up Nehru's famous "Tryst with Destiny" speech. Though I'm not really a fan of Nehru, this speech of his remains one of my all-time favourites. I could only marvel at the choice of words. But one question lingered in my mind - had India really awoken to light and freedom, 59 years after that midnight of 14th August, 1947? I dont have the answer...do you?
7 MONTHS LATER
Its Friday- the 13th, April 2007
Friday-the 13th...hmmm....my friend Rohit tells me that he is looking forward to the day as he was expecting a number of horror flicks to be aired on TV...and knowing his penchant for such flicks, I wasnt too surprised. In fact, I shared his enthusiasm for the same. I thought it fit to check the TV guide in the newspaper to see if indeed there were any such films on TV. I was in for a disappointment - there wasnt a single name which even remotely sounded like a horror flick.Morons!!!
My eyes drifted to the "news-makers" of the day- "Agni III tested, gives New Delhi capability to reach Beijing". The headline almost sounded as if the test of an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile heralded a new form of transport between the Indian and Chinese capitals!!! Talk about the new transport revolution!!!
Another headline read - "CPM's latest pearl of wisdom:Getting US universities to upgrade IAS skills is dangerous". Apparently, the UPA government's plan to upgrade the skills of mid-career IAS officers using the expertise from Harvard, Syracuse and Duke universities has come in for stiff opposition from the "Commies". They contend that such a move would lead to the American penetration of the Indian bureaucracy. Yeah right!!!At least it would counter the Chinese influence that pervades the CPM leadership. Perhaps, the US-India containment of China should start here itself!
As the famous adage goes- Charity begins at home, we will be doing a charity to ourselves by getting rid of these self-righteous buffoons who have nothing better to do than to toe the line of the Chinese PLA by invoking the cries of 'National sovereignty" and "Social Justice". Our intelligence agencies should realize that our northern neighbour has penetrated the highest echelons of the Indian government and the forces that influence decision-making...make no mistake about it.
As hardline as my views may be, I may be excused for my impertinence as these views are not of a wannabe journalist who is supposed to be objective and balanced but are random thoughts of an agitated bastard.
Thank you for bearing with me.
Signed, Sealed and Delivered...
In Liberty,
~Pratyush~
