Independence Day
Tomorrow India celebrates her Independence Day with the routine parades and speeches. A remembrance of past glories and the extreme sacrifices made by our nationalist heroes and heroines only to see the dream of freedom come true. A dream which came true eventually, albeit at a great cost and the loss of many precious lives. However, whether freedom actually came or not is still a big question mark.
Freedom, yes, we had from foreign domination, but we stepped into the domination of our home-grown netas. Who have been exploiting and oppressing the common people endlessly, perhaps even more than our foreign rulers did. The poor remained poor, dying of starvation and exploitation; and some people fattened up at the cost of the ignorant masses. Women and children continue to be tortured, and beaten into suppression; religious animosity continues, ready to flame up at any instant; education still remains a distant dream; and healthcare services and sanitation still remain exclusive.
We have glittering malls and multiplexes now, swanky highrises and flyovers, monorail and metro services, 5-star health care services, schools and colleges resembling overseas institutes. We have some of the richest people residing in India, with personal worth running into many crores. Outwardly, we display every visible symbol of success. The latest gadgets, obscenely priced vehicles, holidays abroad, sons and daughters studying in prestigious overseas colleges, salaries crossing six figures, all the trappings of success. Our politicians gloat that the poorest man on the street has a mobile and Wi-fi access. What if he still does not have two square meals a day?
We have two Indias co-existing in the same country. One that drives around in flashy cars, spending what many people's gross salary may total in one night's entertainment, speaking in terms of dollars and euros, jet setting around the globe. The other India lives struggling to make ends meet, aspiring to better lifestyles for their progeny, grappling with the daily humiliating of earning a living, sweating it out on pot-holed roads, coping with strikes, bandhs, breakdowns, and all kind of arm-twisting. Did freedom really come to the latter lot of people?
India I remains largely ignorant and disdainful of India 2. When they both mingle and both are able to exercise their own free will, that day will be India's real Independence Day.
Jai Hind!!!!
Freedom, yes, we had from foreign domination, but we stepped into the domination of our home-grown netas. Who have been exploiting and oppressing the common people endlessly, perhaps even more than our foreign rulers did. The poor remained poor, dying of starvation and exploitation; and some people fattened up at the cost of the ignorant masses. Women and children continue to be tortured, and beaten into suppression; religious animosity continues, ready to flame up at any instant; education still remains a distant dream; and healthcare services and sanitation still remain exclusive.
We have glittering malls and multiplexes now, swanky highrises and flyovers, monorail and metro services, 5-star health care services, schools and colleges resembling overseas institutes. We have some of the richest people residing in India, with personal worth running into many crores. Outwardly, we display every visible symbol of success. The latest gadgets, obscenely priced vehicles, holidays abroad, sons and daughters studying in prestigious overseas colleges, salaries crossing six figures, all the trappings of success. Our politicians gloat that the poorest man on the street has a mobile and Wi-fi access. What if he still does not have two square meals a day?
We have two Indias co-existing in the same country. One that drives around in flashy cars, spending what many people's gross salary may total in one night's entertainment, speaking in terms of dollars and euros, jet setting around the globe. The other India lives struggling to make ends meet, aspiring to better lifestyles for their progeny, grappling with the daily humiliating of earning a living, sweating it out on pot-holed roads, coping with strikes, bandhs, breakdowns, and all kind of arm-twisting. Did freedom really come to the latter lot of people?
India I remains largely ignorant and disdainful of India 2. When they both mingle and both are able to exercise their own free will, that day will be India's real Independence Day.
Jai Hind!!!!
Comments
Post a Comment