Freedom at midnight: a night of freedom?

It is that time of the year yet again, where there will be the same antiquated lip service to the way the country earned freedom, long drawn speeches on how many made tremendous sacrifices and how a large of number fought to get us our basic rights, and how we wouldn’t be where we are today, but for them. Almost every word of it is true, but does that fervor really hold everyone in its sway, the way it did or the way it should, perhaps not.

Is there a nationalist agenda other than hurling the choicest epithets at each other by different political parties in the name of professing an undying love for the country?  Are there any programmes or policies worth their salt (for that is where it all began) that systematically encourage the building of national character, rather than individualized fragmented short sighted goals, that only fuel the fire of divide and rule (a legacy from our erstwhile rulers).

There will be yet again, symbolic respect paid at every nook and corner, which is indeed encouraging, in a certain way, at least the effort by the common man.  Streets and street corners will be splashed, with in your face displays of the tricolor; all three colours collectively and individually will find a place of pride, few moments of glory, with the dust and cobwebs having been brushed aside from eleven months of anonymity, showcased in their rightful place under the sun; while a sycophantic political head garlands one or many statues, just that one day, while statutes that should be honoured every single day are relegated to some forgotten era.

In an absolutely mindless, inane way there will be celebrations in schools with rows after rows of children standing unaffected in colours of the national flag, as hugely dissatisfied teachers herd them in, to stand in obeisance in front of the flag; while all that most children will think of is loss of sleep on a national holiday and how most of them would have been happier doing something else. While others will send out strangely incorrect and inappropriate messages by celebrating the so called day of freedom,  a day prior to the D day, as that is so much more convenient, not to mention the tardiness of it all, as it is the independence day of another country. And with the same attitude we look at this and many other issues as a nation.  

The only people who will earn their freedom fleetingly, through this jamboree will be groups of children with colourful flags, balloons and other paraphernalia, suddenly emanating from nowhere, swarming around cars, thronging  at traffic signals trying their best to earn a ticket to their momentary freedom, which would delude them the very next minute, as the quick buck they would make from the so called independence revelers, would be just an illusory transient feeling of having become a have from a have-not! For when they would try to use this lottery, sky-rocketing prices would certainly play spoil sport.

So should not everyday be a celebration of who we are and what we are and a celebration of a toughly begotten but easily handed down independence? Should not each child willfully come forward and do his two bit for the nation? Would the superficial, shallow and banal show of love for the nation transform into concrete ideals that metamorphose lives? Will independence go beyond the realm of just another day for another party?

That will be the day…

© Copyright Suverchala Kashyap