Exhibit A: A politician, businessman or celebrity. Twice a year, he hoists the flag and sings the national anthem, his chest swelling with pride at those two occasions.
Exhibit B: A Defence personnel, a security guard, a policeman, a fire-fighter. They dedicate their lives for the country. They are the first breed that come to mind when we think “patriotism”.
Exhibit C: A driver, municipal sweeper, house-maid, toilet cleaner, daily wage labourer, coolie, primary school teacher. Most of these people are probably illiterate; chances are that they don't know what a “flag” is and have never heard of something called a “national anthem”. But these are the people that keep the nation running.
So, who among these should be counted among true patriots? In other words, what place does tokenism and symbolism have in patriotism and nation-building?
My favourite day of the year is August 16th – a day after Independence Day. Let me explain.
During the build-up to I-Day, there's a gradual increase in the intensity of the patriotic sentiment. It starts off as a ripple 2 weeks before the day; and on the eve, it is a full-fledged wave – even a Tsunami. There's an overdose of patriotic movies on TV. Every damned reality show, news channel and serial injects an element of desh-prem into its veins. Every business worth it's salt has an ad in the newspapers wishing everyone a very Happy Independence Day. Politicians are busy giving speeches reminding us about our achievements.
And I, being my competitive self, am forced to jump onto the bandwagon. As a businessman, I am forced to issue an ad in the newspapers. As a politician, I am forced to be louder than the other guy in my praise for what we established during the past year. As a TV show producer, I have no choice but to twist the story a bit to include I-day celebrations in there. And it all reaches a crescendo on 15th August.
However, come dawn of 16th August, I can finally stop pretending. I get relief from the rhetoric. I can get back to bleeding my country in whatever way I was at the beginning of August. And that is why I eagerly await 16th August.
Wishing you all a Happy Independence Day. And a happier post-Independence-Day.
In a recent post; I had posed a question (that I had been asked by a British couple): “Are you happy with your country?”
I got quite a few responses. Among these, the very first one (by Mihir Modi) is very close to what I had in mind when I responded. I just could not express myself as well. And well, most of the responses were along similar lines – that there are problems; but every country has them; and that people are happy with India.
However, I was not convinced with that answer. Somehow, for some reason, I could not convince myself that I am indeed happy with my country. And that is when two other comments came in (by Deepak and IndianHomeMaker). I agree with their comments. Now, its all very clear to me.
I love my country and am strongly patriotic. I know we have lot of potential to make it big in any field. BUT, I am not happy with the current state of affairs in my country. Not even close to. There are too many things that are wrong. Forget about politicians or the other “hated” breed of people. I am not happy with even the common man. The way we common people vote, drive, conduct ourselves, practice the highest degree of hypocrisy - we just may deserve the detestable politicians that we get.
This does not mean that I should sit and crib. No. I want to do my bit in improving things around. I want to play my role in a slow revolution. I want to show the world what We, as Indians, are capable of. But the answer to the original question is: "No- I am not happy with my country."
I leave you with this video of actor Rahul Bose giving a speech (at OASIS 2k9, BITS Pilani) on what his Dream for India is. Do watch it if you have not already.
Disclaimer: This is my personal blog. All the views and opinions expressed on this blog are entirely my own and do not reflect the views of my employer, organization, relatives, friends, acquaintances or any other person/entity.
