I found this somewhere and thought I should share it with you!! Someone who I don't even know has written these words, but I found them very very relevant!!!
The usual hullabaloo is about to begin this week and we will all be swamped by everything to do with celebrating our 60th year of Independence. But amidst all this government-sponsored excitement it is perhaps critical to reflect on what we've really achieved as a nation and some exciting milestones that we've managed to cross in these six decades. And question the kind of freedom we've enjoyed. There is enough good news to keep us busy all the time. But there have been some reality-checks that we have chosen to ignore.
For me these 60 years have meant the following:
* We finally got rid of the British not because of M.K. Gandhi, but only because Lord Mountbatten's wife Edwina and Jawaharlal Nehru (who I still rate as our finest Prime Minister) fell in love. Lutyens' Delhi then tasted a whiff of diplomacy blended with love.
* At one time we boasted of Presidents of a certain stature. Those fine men who entered Rashtrapati Bhavan were men of substance until a certain Mrs. Gandhi (not to be confused with the present Mrs. Gandhi) installed Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and the decline began. We thought it would end with the installation of a rocket scientist, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, but then again a certain Mrs. Gandhi (the present one) decided to gift Pratibha Patil to the nation, to mark our 60th anniversary and the rights of women. We now have a President that the people didn't want, that the people's representatives were forced to vote for; and all we've left poor Dr Karan Singh with is another presidency — that of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.
* There was a time when we boasted of remarkable Union ministers and legendary chief ministers. Be it a T.T. Krishnamachari or a Dr B.C. Roy, they were people who brought a zeal to their offices, and what's more, were driven by causes. They helped inspire and instill a belief that this country was headed in the right direction. We had incorruptible people who were elected because of their honesty and not the lack of it. Today, some Cabinet ministers belong more to the prison and less to the Cabinet as it were. Some like Shibu Soren have scaled new heights by being incarcerated for murder, while others land choppers where even cars don't dare. From the sublime we have moved to the remarkably ridiculous.
* There was a time when we had editors who went to jail to fight for the freedom of the press. There were newspapers, which broke new ground, weekly magazines that opened our eyes to the Bhagalpurblinding. There were shows on Doordarshan, which you enjoyed with the remarkable Tabassum, but some of this has also changed, for the worse. We now have editors who are on television and television anchors who write edit pieces in newspapers; you have television interviews which make the Gulf War look small only because of the vitriol that flows, with the hapless viewer surfing channels like never before. There was a time when the youth of the country was seized with issues and value pyramids, where education was everything one aspired for, where it was more important to respect those who taught you and imbibe the learning from your elders. That too, somewhere down the line, has been forgotten. The Internet and family albums by Face book have replaced parents. The photographs we took of our families on holidays have been replaced by vulgarity spewed on You tube and we are all supposedly a progressive world. In my times, Coke was a drink. Today it is a powder.
* There was a time when we admired the art of giving. A time when we saluted those who gave back in full measure to society. When we actually contributed to causes and ensured there was enough societal follow-up. But sadly, all that has changed as well. The pink newspapers are busy telling us about who made it to the rich list and in the process perhaps trampled on how many innocent people. But a "Give List" has never been published to tell us who amongst these luminaries gave back to society.
* There was a time when we had actors and actresses who only did what they were supposed to do. Act in films or on television. Today some of them have become part-time activists, while others are pretending to run around trees at an old age. From the soulful music of Naushad we have descended to the music of someone who is best remembered for a complicated surname. The Dilip Kumars retired gracefully and were gentle human beings. Today, we have film actors doubling up as benaami landlords.
A lot has changed and a lot remains the same.
We have a tremendous future ahead and the fact that we have the world's youngest population (everywhere except in Parliament, not to mention the Union Cabinet, of course) should both delight and scare us. Age has many challenges and keeping the youth inspired is an entirely different ballgame.
This is what we need to reflect on as we approach the next life cycle in India's destiny.
Never have these words been more apt:
Eh mere watan ke logon,
zara aankh mein bhar lo paani…
Happy Independence Day!
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