Sixty-years of self-styled independence…Ah! Too short for a nation like India to scale achievements yet Indians has redefined them. From a newbie nation somewhere in the coast of Arabian Sea to a top-claimant for superpower title and the most sought-after outsourcing partner, India, as nation has evolved itself. Yet, achievements are yet to achieve and unsung glories to be sang.
This 15th of August, when a few would be delivering speeches commemorating the birth of a nation and the tales of sacrifices ‘grand old-man’ made I wonder why the rejoicing is restricted to dead-ones only. If it was 1947 when a handful of British set to sail homewards, after having divided nations, and one Mountbatten cooling off inside the plush Rashtrapati Bhawan. Independence would have been a farce, if there’s no 1965, 71 or 1999. Yea…our predecessors might have been entangled into drafting guidelines for 1947 when streets of Bengal, Bihar, and Punjab are painted with blood, flesh, and tales of horror. But, the years 1971 and 1999 compensated for what we craved – Indians go have guts’ to fight back.
Personally, I recall the monsoon of 1999 when my friends and I waited patiently to join ‘armed forces’ and become a martyr. It was later accepted to be a military misadventure by Pakistani Army forces for having masterminded and executed an inappropriate attempt that ultimately led to humiliating defeat in the hands of Indian Army. Indians thronged to the roads amidst loud drum-beats and thumping; year-long jubilations carried out at every street corner, most painted the country – ‘SAFFRON’. Back home, my mother recalled her youth as apparition of India’s victory in 1971 visited us and neighborhood. I learnt to rejoice ‘independence’ then…and what with 15th August?
One more holiday in the week.
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