Saturday 16 August 2008

61 years and going strong

There cannot be a more opportune moment to recall the sacrifices of the thousands who lost their lives to secure this freedom”, thus goes in brief many a speech spoken on this day across the country from the ramparts to the backyards, from school grounds to political party offices, Independence has very little meaning in the nation’s context for the remaining part of the year sans this day.
It has not been intentional to sound cynical, but then for someone who believes to be a patriot in the true sense, for someone who feels being a responsible citizen is just a basic requirement, it is hard to digest the hypocrisy of the arm chair preachers who day-in-and-day-out thrive on passing judgement on the dos and don’ts in society and at other times don’t bat an eyelid to do break every possible rule, written and unwritten, ethical and unethical.
Enough of berating the hypocrites, who have governed our lives, lets give a saner thought to freedom. Freedom in the dictionary sense is “The condition of being free; the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints”. Well aren’t we getting too prejudiced with the people who think for us, speak for us and also make us think and speak their language? Where has our inner sense of creativity and analytical sense gone? Can we not make our own opinion and stick to it?
This Independence Day, let’s solemnly pledge to “FREE OUR MINDS” of prejudice, contempt, lack of sensitivity towards the surroundings, towards fellow human beings and towards anything that does not belong to ‘us’. Let’s “SPEAK OUR HEARTS” rationally.
Inculcate the habit of being humane; imbibe virtue as a prerequisite to live - like the air we breathe, the water we drink or the food we eat.

Let Freedom be…! In the actual sense – not just a day to remember on I Day, but a cherished luxury that can be made memorable every day in our lives.

Jai Hind

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