Yet another one of them are here. 65th it's being called this time.
What does this day mean to us now? It's a National Holiday for one. It's a day when kids on the traffic signals get a break from begging and get to sell those little tricolors (possibly bulk made in China) to put up on our vehicles, so that we can show to ourselves and others that we are enjoying this day and took a notice of it.
It's that day when children who get to go to schools, have to sing the National Anthem, and get a couple of laddoos, and then it's half day at school. Yeah there is also that big speech at the Red Fort, which is supposed to replace the morning show, and act as an ironical depiction of India (as in the Person on the dais makes it look like it's a great place to live in, and that things are going well). Well, now there is also the new trend of FB posts and Tweets about The Day. Since the law has changed some people even take the day to wear clothes featuring the tricolor.
Talking of emotions this day arises, the bag can be called mixed. Patriotism (yes, it is one of the foremost feelings we are supposed to have today) is often a fleeting phenomenon, which occurs during a particularly touchy scene during the 'Independence Day' special, movie watching spree. Confused anxiety is another of those feelings, which results as the cognizance of the fact that it's a 'Dry Day'. Some other feelings that are evoked are usually on the darker side, if we spare them a moment's thought.
The feeling of all those people having died and toiled in vain, when we consider the present state of affairs. The feeling of irony when even on this day we get discriminated against or showed down by someone higher in the social order we live in. The feeling of sheer disbelief about how hopeless and grim the situation is, where there is just no way out.
In a way, back when we were under British subjugation, things were easier. We all knew who the enemy was, and we were united in our feelings. Now, it's much worse. The enemy now is within us. We have made our enemy such that it can lurk behind familiar faces, and never stand out in crowds. We all have sheltered a little bit of the enemy and therefore pinpointing at someone is just blaming ourselves basically.
This creates the problem of inherent dilemma of distinguishing between the victim and culprit. We are both at the same time, and that means we are stuck up trying to pose as victims sometimes and disguising ourselves from being seen as the culprit at others.
What has Independence meant to us really? Independence of what do we celebrate? Of thought? Action? Of having choices? Of having an equitable distribution of opportunities? Of having removed discrimination? Of having abolished slavery? Of having no oppressors? Of being able to work honestly and expect a fair return? Of having a say in my own life?
If none of the above then what does it mean? If it means nothing of significance why do we go on celebrating it? Is it part of disguising the ugly truth? Of pretending things are going well, like that man on the dais at Red Fort? What is so difficult about acknowledging our mistakes, our shortcomings?
What is so hard about pledging to be better, for real? Perhaps one thing I can think of is that it makes us human. It makes us confess our weakness, and we don't want to do it. Probably not because how we would feel about it, but more so because how would those whom I sit on top of would feel about it. Imagine a day when a Boss confesses he made a mistake in front of his subordinates. What would that do to his reputation? Who would listen to him the next day? Who would respect him? Who would fear him?
Or think of a father who apologizes to his son for doing or saying something he shouldn't have. That would kill the whole point of being a father wouldn't it. It would mean he is short of perfect. Which would mean he can't any longer exercise his right of being a father on his children.
This is the core problem, by confessing to our crimes, we become prone to even more insinuations. We even may become scapegoats for those who weren't as honest as us. We lose our pride and respect, and we lose our own value and the faith in our judgement when we confess we were wrong. If an Indian says, India has a lot of problems, and it all starts within every person that lives in this country, we would hear it as if the words came from within us. And we would act as if, if we would ignore it, the words would slowly fade away like those cries of conscience always have eventually.
But it stings us a lot, when those words come from an outsider. If a foreigner says what a discriminating, corrupt, poor, lazy country India is, we would all in no time put on our proud helmets, and draw our swords. We would start throwing back javelins of Indian culture and how old and nice it is, and we would quote facts of economical development and point to the Audis and Mercedes on our roads as proofs that we are not poor. We would tell them that we treat foreigners with respect and welcome them with open hearts to our lands (while what we really want to say is we welcome white people with all their money gladly, and any other skin color still disgusts us and throws us in to a xenophobic frenzy).
If anyone points out that we are lazy and corrupt we at once start counting to them the number of IITians in silicon valley making millions of dollars, or we start pointing to our IT industry and generic drugs factories. We just would do anything and everything to continue living in our little bubble. Where self satisfaction, complacency, love of status quo, the fear of change, the threat of something or someone finding out who we really are or what we are really worth of beneath our shells would be known.
A country where competency always comes second to knowing someone high up. A nation where meritocracy gets lost somewhere as someone with a reservation gets a high flying career with less than a tenth of your IQ while you toil around in the sun. A place where destiny and luck are the de facto roll back phenomenons when anything goes wrong, instead of acknowledging the lack of planning and hard work. A land where social respect is determined not by achievement, skills, morals or anything else you might have done since you were born but by caste, color, family wealth, or plain old muscle power. A society where the road to success is believed to pass through filth and dirt, and painfully enough no one will believe you if you tell them it's possible to succeed without being dirty, and even more painfully enough people still want to be successful in such a society at whatever compromises they must make for it. This is the sort of place which goes about rejoicing the day of its birth today.
A child born 65 years ago, who grew up to be a person so ashamed of itself, the only way it finds to avoid the truth is to live in the glory of days gone by. The day of its birth a reminder of what it was and what it has come to. A day when probably its only hope lies in some distant future which might have a glimmer of hope or the long lost pride of the past, which sometimes lets him put up his head high. It's the Independence Day, rejoice people, cause we have to keep up the show.
What does this day mean to us now? It's a National Holiday for one. It's a day when kids on the traffic signals get a break from begging and get to sell those little tricolors (possibly bulk made in China) to put up on our vehicles, so that we can show to ourselves and others that we are enjoying this day and took a notice of it.
It's that day when children who get to go to schools, have to sing the National Anthem, and get a couple of laddoos, and then it's half day at school. Yeah there is also that big speech at the Red Fort, which is supposed to replace the morning show, and act as an ironical depiction of India (as in the Person on the dais makes it look like it's a great place to live in, and that things are going well). Well, now there is also the new trend of FB posts and Tweets about The Day. Since the law has changed some people even take the day to wear clothes featuring the tricolor.
Talking of emotions this day arises, the bag can be called mixed. Patriotism (yes, it is one of the foremost feelings we are supposed to have today) is often a fleeting phenomenon, which occurs during a particularly touchy scene during the 'Independence Day' special, movie watching spree. Confused anxiety is another of those feelings, which results as the cognizance of the fact that it's a 'Dry Day'. Some other feelings that are evoked are usually on the darker side, if we spare them a moment's thought.
The feeling of all those people having died and toiled in vain, when we consider the present state of affairs. The feeling of irony when even on this day we get discriminated against or showed down by someone higher in the social order we live in. The feeling of sheer disbelief about how hopeless and grim the situation is, where there is just no way out.
In a way, back when we were under British subjugation, things were easier. We all knew who the enemy was, and we were united in our feelings. Now, it's much worse. The enemy now is within us. We have made our enemy such that it can lurk behind familiar faces, and never stand out in crowds. We all have sheltered a little bit of the enemy and therefore pinpointing at someone is just blaming ourselves basically.
This creates the problem of inherent dilemma of distinguishing between the victim and culprit. We are both at the same time, and that means we are stuck up trying to pose as victims sometimes and disguising ourselves from being seen as the culprit at others.
What has Independence meant to us really? Independence of what do we celebrate? Of thought? Action? Of having choices? Of having an equitable distribution of opportunities? Of having removed discrimination? Of having abolished slavery? Of having no oppressors? Of being able to work honestly and expect a fair return? Of having a say in my own life?
If none of the above then what does it mean? If it means nothing of significance why do we go on celebrating it? Is it part of disguising the ugly truth? Of pretending things are going well, like that man on the dais at Red Fort? What is so difficult about acknowledging our mistakes, our shortcomings?
What is so hard about pledging to be better, for real? Perhaps one thing I can think of is that it makes us human. It makes us confess our weakness, and we don't want to do it. Probably not because how we would feel about it, but more so because how would those whom I sit on top of would feel about it. Imagine a day when a Boss confesses he made a mistake in front of his subordinates. What would that do to his reputation? Who would listen to him the next day? Who would respect him? Who would fear him?
Or think of a father who apologizes to his son for doing or saying something he shouldn't have. That would kill the whole point of being a father wouldn't it. It would mean he is short of perfect. Which would mean he can't any longer exercise his right of being a father on his children.
This is the core problem, by confessing to our crimes, we become prone to even more insinuations. We even may become scapegoats for those who weren't as honest as us. We lose our pride and respect, and we lose our own value and the faith in our judgement when we confess we were wrong. If an Indian says, India has a lot of problems, and it all starts within every person that lives in this country, we would hear it as if the words came from within us. And we would act as if, if we would ignore it, the words would slowly fade away like those cries of conscience always have eventually.
But it stings us a lot, when those words come from an outsider. If a foreigner says what a discriminating, corrupt, poor, lazy country India is, we would all in no time put on our proud helmets, and draw our swords. We would start throwing back javelins of Indian culture and how old and nice it is, and we would quote facts of economical development and point to the Audis and Mercedes on our roads as proofs that we are not poor. We would tell them that we treat foreigners with respect and welcome them with open hearts to our lands (while what we really want to say is we welcome white people with all their money gladly, and any other skin color still disgusts us and throws us in to a xenophobic frenzy).
If anyone points out that we are lazy and corrupt we at once start counting to them the number of IITians in silicon valley making millions of dollars, or we start pointing to our IT industry and generic drugs factories. We just would do anything and everything to continue living in our little bubble. Where self satisfaction, complacency, love of status quo, the fear of change, the threat of something or someone finding out who we really are or what we are really worth of beneath our shells would be known.
A country where competency always comes second to knowing someone high up. A nation where meritocracy gets lost somewhere as someone with a reservation gets a high flying career with less than a tenth of your IQ while you toil around in the sun. A place where destiny and luck are the de facto roll back phenomenons when anything goes wrong, instead of acknowledging the lack of planning and hard work. A land where social respect is determined not by achievement, skills, morals or anything else you might have done since you were born but by caste, color, family wealth, or plain old muscle power. A society where the road to success is believed to pass through filth and dirt, and painfully enough no one will believe you if you tell them it's possible to succeed without being dirty, and even more painfully enough people still want to be successful in such a society at whatever compromises they must make for it. This is the sort of place which goes about rejoicing the day of its birth today.
A child born 65 years ago, who grew up to be a person so ashamed of itself, the only way it finds to avoid the truth is to live in the glory of days gone by. The day of its birth a reminder of what it was and what it has come to. A day when probably its only hope lies in some distant future which might have a glimmer of hope or the long lost pride of the past, which sometimes lets him put up his head high. It's the Independence Day, rejoice people, cause we have to keep up the show.
2 comments:
Nice thought Ashwini ...
Let me ask you a very simple question ... What is it that connects one Indian to another, What makes all of us say in pride or shame, that we are Indians ... Is that our history , our culture, genetic relationship, a mutual sense of belongingness. As I move further in my flow of thought, I am trying to explain to you and myself, Are we similar to any group that share these common value systems, what speparates us apart, what is it that would probably make a group of people behave in a manner they do ... Are we proud of our history or the story told to us during 50 years of congress rule , Not really most of us are not even aware of what happened... Are we proud of our intellect, oops IITs and IIM's or so the stereotypical notion. I would end the list over here to help myself not being further confused and come to the conclusion right away.
The Britishers have left the country in 1947 after looting the wealth. However what was the hallmark of that invasion was the corruption of our value system, We could free ourselves from the physical shackles of slavery but never realized in the process that mentally we are still slaves to english Language, An education system designed to produce clerks, Racist attitude.
What else would be the output of these value systems. Not a generation which can take pride in themselves for being Indian unless they earn big bucks, get a certificate of Intellect from the IIT's or IIM's, be an NRI and associate with only succesful Indians abroad.
Closing thought, As you mentioned that the enemy is within us, We might have become independent physically, socially and legally back in 1947 but our mental value systems are still held in shackles of a corrupt mindset and unfortunately neither the formal/ informal education nor the social system is helping the cause.
" Azaadi ek mithya hain,
Gulami to hamare man me hain" ~ MP
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