The Independence - Indian Way

We Indians often forget that each country’s independence is very unique not comparable with the rest. As I look back to recollect I come across some interesting themes connected to India’s Independence Movement:

1.Each one has passed through a host of socio-politico-economic process.India is no exception. Some of us sometimes repent that our independence is a gift of the Britishers with hardly any blood spent. That’s why, when something is received without much effort, we often rate them as of much lesser value.

2. When India fought for independence, and those part of India that really bled were undivided Punjab, undivided Bengal and undivided Maharashtra and a few other states. I would like to insist and the same can be vouched with statistics that people’s participation in non-cooperation protests against the Britishers did result in disproportionately low bloodshed and far less sacrificwe than those who took guns to fight Britishers leaving behind a career and family life. Netaji,Bhahat Singh and Chandrasekhar Azad are the best examples of Indian sacrifice.

Although each state or Indian kingdom had its own share of glory brought by a few great souls, but it is a historical fact that many of these states and their people had not got influeneced by the freedom movement. Only Gandhiji’s scheduled movements had a pan Indian face to it at times.

3. When India fought for independence, a substantial majority of the people with faith in Hinduism participated and so the movements had a natural Hindu face.

4. When India fought for independence, a sustantial majority of the people who represented the struggle belonged to the middle class and urban class [except a few of Gandhiji's movements that appealed to common mass]. So the Independence movement had more of a superficial touch and less of an active participation from the toiling mass and the am-janta who were at the receiving end of British economoc and other exploitations.

5. The political movement as a mirror of Indian society reflected the disunitiy within the society since the inception - Hindu religion was at its oppressive worst in the rural hinterland and the top echelons of Hindu society lead the political movement with the moneyed Jamindars and Indian entrepreneurs who were expecting to be the beneficiaries on British leaving the land even with a partitioned India. Hence, other religions and lower strata of Hindu religion were sceptical of the future. Jinna who was the blue-eyed boy of the Congress till the other day and a secular to all, turned to his own community to achieve welfare of his community. He perhaps had a foresight to see that undivided India was much dangerous to the minorities than a partioned India. With the trend in India unfolding during 1989 onwards, may we not presume that Jinna was not wrong in his politico-socio-religious asssessment.

We often repent about state of affairs of nation India, but we in our desire to have instant solutions must not overlook the fact that Indian democracy is only 60 years old compared to more than 200 years old democracy of USA. And we need to travel a long road of struggle to bear the fruits and prosperity reach each corner of India and every remote villages and towns where people still rot in poverty.

What are the Tasks Ahead for we Indians to make our motherland prosperous, peaceful and an embodiment of God - a garden where children of all caste,creed and religion play and share lives as Tagore and Gandhiji once dreamed. Let us swear to change India for the better -

1. Overcome the psyche of linguistic statehood in favour of Indian psyche.

2. Citizens must be more pro-active to have more and more checks and balance in the executive and judiciary process of our democracy

3. To have a highly active nationalistic independent media sensitive to corruption, anti-democracy events and anti-nationalistic mis adventures and constitution defying activities to keep executive and judiciary on toes.

4. To ensure a more fool-proof electoral process which no criminals and no corrupt officials can surcumvent to act as peaople’s representative

5. An enforcement agency which do not go for religious or linguisitic or gender based mis adventures dancing on the order of local rulers and their henchmen..

If these five tasks are sincerely accomplished , the rest of the unfinished tasks will not take much of a time to accomplish, thereby making each one of us proud Indians and our mother land INDIA as one of the best places to live on earth.Then there will be lesser stampede among the youth and the educated to reach foreign shores only to live a remorse depressed life with a synthetic smile on the face. We all know there is no substitute for your own mother and her affection for sons/daughters even if she is poor. It is my India where our many generations have lived and our future generations shall continue to live and no foreign land can match our ” Sujalam Sufalam Sashya Shamalam Ma taram..[.Bharat Mata ]… Bande Mataram” Jai Hind!!