Independence – Road to Cultural Redemption

India today Celebrates its 70th Independence Day. This Country has seen a lot. From the Mughal Invasion to the Portuguese, Dutch , French and British Invasion , we have suffered a lot . From being rejected to be given super computer by other countries to creating its own and now the second biggest  IT industry in the world- this country has achieved a lot. World has been cruel to us on different platforms but now this same world looks upon us for friendship – Yes that’s India’s development story in short. This is the Land of Ashoka,  this is the land of Guru Nanak,  this is the land of Shivaji. This country has given birth to sons like Bhagat Singh,  Chandrasekhar and daughters like Indira Gandhi,  Pratibha Patil,  Kalpana Chawla,  Sarojini Naidu and many more.

Now  it is the time of being modernized. It is the times when everyone has an opinion which is good. The times when we mix the terms modernization and westernization. The times where its ok to disrespect our flag , the national anthem or song , elders , fellow being in the name of freedom and right to expression. The times where being patriot is considered uncool. The time where our esteemed “budhijeevis” consider standing for the  national anthem for 52 seconds hampers their freedom. The national anthem which is actually considered to be  a mark of  freedom for any country means opposite for some in India. Yes, it is strange that our class is judged on the basis of how fluent english we speak and parents  teach their children to glorify english and disrespect hindi. And then they are the same people who will take name of Japan as an example of management and technology but nobody will consider how even between all the major developments , Japan has preserved their culture and values so well.  Is this happening from your side?

Development is important for any country . Even USA must be looking for some points for further development and here we have the list of points. We need development in Technology , Railways , Airways , Education and most importantly Mindset. But we need to understand that we have not got this country for free. The national anthem which you believe hampers your freedom is the result of many who lost their lives and couldn’t even listen this  because of their death before freedom . The national flag which you consider just a cloth is the values that our country beholds from the last thousand years. The Language Hindi which you are ashamed to speak is our identity and is taken mostly from sanskrit which is the mother of all languages. So at the end it is important to understand the values this country beholds from the last many years . It is important to preserve our culture and when I say culture it doesn’t involve preservation of culture what Pahlaj Nihalani talks about or some extremists talk about, I mean the values that we hold . Lets maintain the legacy of this country and take it to the heights where our freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh must have thought about before giving their life and also just like the way A.P.J Abdul Kalam wrote in his books or spoke about in his speeches.

Jai Hind!