Took me quite a while to get to making a blog post, but it was more the occasion I confess
My initial thoughts on today, the 60th anniversary of India’s independence are rather mixed, primarily because at first sight this is passing on as just another holiday, a day to watch the flag being hoisted in the apartment, read special features in the newspaper and beyond all this, perhaps nothing more significant. Which is so unfortunate, because through the day I have been repeatedly mulling over the significance of the day and the more I think about it, the more privileged I feel, here are a few reasons why …
That India actually made it to 60 as a Free nation is a enigma and one wonders whether it is because of Democracy or despite Democracy ! Consider the odds against it, Illiteracy, Corruption, Poverty leading to a huge Rich-Poor divide, Class divisions, Religious conflicts, Dynastic politics, this nation and its people have seen it all, borne it all and move on in rather typical India resolve. Whether that resolve is the by-now pathological ‘Chaltha Hai’ or a more deeper divine belief in one’s Karma & Dharma is something I am not able to understand, but it is there and it has got us this far despite all odds. Perhaps it is the same flavor of us as a collective that took us onwards through ages of foreign invasions and loot
India is 60 today, against all odds … & onwards we go !
Isn’t it amazing that today, we boast of the world’s largest Democracy (with Universal Adult Franchise) and one that works (atleast true to Democracy’s original purpose), now whether the people that this process elects are the merited enough to make laws and rule the country can be debated (& often quickly concluded that all of them are crooks, which again becomes the subject of another debate), besides we also boast of a truly Independent Judiciary and a Free Press. The 3 pillars of People’s Choice, Fair Justice and the Watchdog Press is an asset that the past 60 years of Free India have created and on these pillars would the future be made
India is 60 today, against all odds … & onwards we go !
Lets take another cut at this and compare ourselves with Pakistan (I can hear some of you reading this squirm at the very comparison … and if that is the case, then I rest my case), which became an Independent nation exactly a day before we did and look at where we are today and where they are. 2 nations both bound by the common trauma of Partition and a common reason to hate the enemy in Kashmir are today tending to be poles apart in terms of the basic factors that a nation should be made of. Pakistan’s recent history has been pock marked by sustained spells of Military rule, Martial Law, Coups, Religious extremism and an overall sense of middle age backwardness as contrasted with India’s appeal of a stable democracy, Large English speaking middle class and the world’s IT backroom boys. I am completely certain that for a comparable set of the population (say the middle class) in both India & Pakistan, the state of living both within the home and outside might be more or less the same (we all live in the same world and face the same problems), yet as a nation India and Pakistan are poles apart and the recent actions by Gen Musharaff in stifling the Judiciary and threats to impose Emergency are only making the difference more stark
India is 60 today, against all odds … & onwards we go !
That said, 60 is but a minor instant in a Nation’s lifetime, there is a lot of Labour left to do and so much more to achieve as a nation. Education, Health Care, Infrastructure, Rightful Equal Opportunity, Access to Capital and Sustainable use of Energy are but a few of the money strides we need to take as a Nation. It is great to be here this moment and feels even better to head on onwards, odds or otherwise !
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