15 August 2007. India will celebrate 60 years of independence.
Sometimes I wonder, what does Indian Independence really mean to us today? What do we do on 15th Aug? We might get up late. We will buy small tirangas with those spinning chakras attached to them. And then very efficiently we will tie them to our vehicle. All day patriotic songs will be played on Radio Mirchi. That’s it!
We crib that nothing seems to work in India. We curse our system and say “Nothing is going to happen to this country”. It’s good that we realize that there are a lot of issues with our country. And the all issues are inter-linked, forming a vicious circle. But what are we doing to break this vicious circle?
Our heroes of the past cleaned our home for us. They told us "Kar chalein hum fida jaan aur tan saathiyon, ab tumhare hawalein vatan saathiyon". They have handed us the batons. It’s our duty now to wake up and take firm steps to better our country.
This 15th August, let us all do something, anything simple, that will make this Independence Day different.
You can decide to plant a tree or make your maid servant happy by giving her a holiday too. Or you can think of doing some kind of social service. You can do that little bit to avoid pollution by not taking out your vehicle – you can cycle instead! Small things as such cannot change all our issues at an instant. But at least you can give it a start. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”.
So on this Independence Day, try to do something that can make a difference. It will. And what more, you can share your experiences / episodes of the day, so as to motivate all those around you!
