As the country observes and not just celebrates its 77th Independence Day there is much to introspect about this day and its intrinsic meaning in our daily lives and our journey as a nation. To celebrate is to brush off the ugly facets of the stark realities that are the daily truths we negotiate. To observe is to do a reality check. India has left behind 76 glorious years with a mixed past. India’s past is a history of different colonisers from the Mughals to the British. Many have paid a heavy price to free India from such colonisers. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre is a grim reminder of the brutality of the colonialists. But we cannot live in that past and regurgitate it. Those are realities that have to be dealt with and they are part of our agonising history. To wipe out history from our school and college textbooks because some feel that it’s a shameful past and that those lessons need to be obliterated is fraught. Very often suppressing the past takes away the learnings from that period of history and could extract a price in the future. However, we cannot be consumed by the past, re-fight its battles or succumb to the sterility of vengeance. Not to remember the past or to be overwhelmed by memory are equally dangerous. Only by taking a balanced view of the past through conscientious but not obsessive lenses can we shun victimhood, accept divergent national narratives, and embrace decency in political speech and behaviour.
India was born in the cradle of democracy – its fight for independence having been won not by fire power but by the sweat, blood and tears of ordinary citizens and leaders who spent jail time but never gave up the fight. The country has now arrived at a point when it can showcase to the world that the democratic spirit that embraces a liberal worldview and is not inhibited and blinded by religious bigotry is alive and kicking. But is that the reality today? Since 2014 India has been ruled by a political party that seeks to assert its oneness of language, faith and culture – all of which run counter to the principles on which the country was birthed. The intent is to shut out criticism by exerting a tight grip on the freedom of expression which is a Constitutional guarantee. Philosophers across the ages have advocated diversity of thought and called it the most important aspect of diversity. That in essence is liberalism. It is a travesty that much of the conservative worldview consists of ideas known empirically to be false. India’s ruling party is now at the cusp of leaning towards a conservative worldview. Is this what India needs for its citizens to progress? When citizens live in fear of retribution for speaking their minds, democracy is chipped away. The people of India need to reclaim the idea of true Independence on August 15 and not just fly the tricolour and be led by slogans mouthed by the Government. Like Bal Gangadhar Tilak said, “Freedom is my birthright. So long as it is awake within me, I am not old. No weapon can cut this spirit, no fire can burn it, no water can wet it, no wind can dry it.” Jai Hind!
