It is 15th of Aug once again. Once again there was the usual speech by the prime minister of India from the grand walls of the Red Fort. Once again we 'got to' sing Jana Gana Mana. Once again the tricolor 'got to' flutter.
I received an sms last night at 00:00 hrs from a very dear friend of mine, accusing me of ignorance and indifference towards the celebration of a national moment. He wrote – “when we want to be the first to wish our dear ones on a certain ‘V’ day or on ‘B’ days, then why don’t we make the same effort on an ‘I’ day?”. He finished off by wishing me a very happy Independence day.
I didn’t feel bad, nor did I feel guilty. A tear rolled out of my eyes and I could only say it to myself, “my dear friend, we are yet to win our freedom”.
No no. Please do not misunderstand me. I have always been a good student of history. I know, on 15th of Aug, the rulers of the country – the Britishers, left it forever (for good or bad, is still debatable). On that night, though we did become an independent nation, we did not win freedom from fear, terror, religious extremism, poverty, illiteracy etc. At least not all men and women won their freedom.
A nation which celebrates the biggest, and the proudest moment of its history amidst “tight security” cannot be a FREE country. A nation where people are suspicious of the character and intent of their neighbors is not a free country. A country where the lives and lifestyle of its people are governed not by merit but by their religion, caste and now worse, by their place of birth (within the country!) is not a free state.
If we were a free country, then a “doodhwala” from Bihar had a birthright to earn a living in Mumbai and vice versa too. But is it granted? Even if yes, is that right being protected?
A fathers love, support, guidance was the birthright of that 8 year old child, which was “Denied” to him by a bomb blast in Ahmedabad. Will his mother ask him to celebrate this so-called freedom on today?
Even after 61 years, most of the villages are still not free from darkness.
Is every Indian free from the fear (in more than one ways) for their lives? Do we not board a public transport bus with a small prayer to God that may this bus not be the ONE?
This is just the tip of an iceberg. I have not even touched issues of religious extremism, corruption, spineless political leadership, the ongoing problem in J&K and many more!
Did Capt. Vikram Batra sacrifice his life for that very land which is now being set afire by its own people? Do we really honor his sacrifice? Do we really value the sacrifice made by the lacs of people in the struggle to 15th Aug?
I know courtesy the dialogue writer of the legendary Rang De Basanti, that no country is perfect, it is its people who have to make it one. So what have I contributed to make it perfect? Well, I pay my tax on time. I stop when the signal is red even on an empty road. I do not pay bribes. I do not buy a movie ticket in black. I work like hell to meet my project deadlines. And among many other ‘Trivial’ things, being a Hindu I do not mind sharing my food with a Muslim.
Earlier we were ruled by invaders, then by British, and for the past 61 years we have been ruled by a pack of indifferent politicians. Politicians whose only duty, it seems is to make a statement after every blast and condemn it.
So my dear friend, if you are asking me to celebrate the ‘In-Dependence’ of our country, I might join you with a glass of ‘lassi’ in my hand. But if it’s the Freedom which we are yet to win, that you wish to celebrate, you know my answer…
Friday, August 15, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Can i have a US visa please!
"I want to settle down in the US of A".
Sounds familiar, right? No surprises as this is what most young Indians like me secretly dream of. Fat pay cheques, seductive lifestyle, smart homes, flashy cars, last but not the least, a pretty Indian better-half(who knows, even a gori maim will do) are some of the supplements that come along with an American job.
But different from others that I am, my aspirations of a permanent foothold on the American soil are the outcome of a more rationale, call it more logical approach to life. The recent agitation by a 'sons-of-the-soil' organization 'XYZ' sowed the seeds of this logical thought process in my mind (and heart too). Complimented by timely watering in the form of a recent SC ruling on OBC reservations in educational institutions in the country, this seed has transformed into a full-fledged banyan-tree-conclusion firmly rooted by the following assumptions which might come true in the next 15 years, or, may be even earlier.
1> The 'XYZ' organization would have acquired the status of the law makers (or breakers shall I say!). Laws of the nation would get re-written to iron out the flaws injected by their original drafters, inline with the wishes of the organization chief Mr. 'A'.
2> I might not be able to secure admissions for my children in the premier institutes of the country even if eligible. Merit is the most underrated word in this country. I fear publishers of the famed oxford dictionary might have to publish special editions sans the word merit, for sale in India. To shoot the sales to meteoric heights they would rather introduce a new word 'Aarakshan' meaning 'suppression of the deserving, applicable only in India'.
3> Even if my children manage to get a decent quality of education, the chances of their getting employed would be as miniscule as Rakhi Sawants role in Main Hu Na! The only reason for their rejection by potential employers would be - yes, you guessed it right. The resume would have to mandatorily read like as follows to facilitate faster recruitment.
Name : Unaarakshit Mohnot
Age : 22
Sex : Male
Ed. Qualification : BE Mechanical
Reservation Category : None
4> The 1st of April would be the designated date for submitting application forms to secure S1B, S2B, ST1 and other types of Inter-state Visas. Did I hear you yelling 'Inter-state-visa' with double exclamation marks? People would not be allowed to move out of their respective states of birth without a valid Visa. Insufficient infrastructure being the secondary reason behind this exercise. Primary, Mr. A's wish. Any person residing in a state other than his/her birth without a valid visa would be considered as a threat to that state and put behind bars after his house, office have been stoned to ground-zero. Wondering why just one day for a population of 2 billion plus? Well there's just one fools day in a year. No prizes for guessing what the emails informing them of the visa status would read!
So, you see, I love my country very much and therefore i do not want to leave it in search of greener pasture for myself. But I love my children even more...
Sounds familiar, right? No surprises as this is what most young Indians like me secretly dream of. Fat pay cheques, seductive lifestyle, smart homes, flashy cars, last but not the least, a pretty Indian better-half(who knows, even a gori maim will do) are some of the supplements that come along with an American job.
But different from others that I am, my aspirations of a permanent foothold on the American soil are the outcome of a more rationale, call it more logical approach to life. The recent agitation by a 'sons-of-the-soil' organization 'XYZ' sowed the seeds of this logical thought process in my mind (and heart too). Complimented by timely watering in the form of a recent SC ruling on OBC reservations in educational institutions in the country, this seed has transformed into a full-fledged banyan-tree-conclusion firmly rooted by the following assumptions which might come true in the next 15 years, or, may be even earlier.
1> The 'XYZ' organization would have acquired the status of the law makers (or breakers shall I say!). Laws of the nation would get re-written to iron out the flaws injected by their original drafters, inline with the wishes of the organization chief Mr. 'A'.
2> I might not be able to secure admissions for my children in the premier institutes of the country even if eligible. Merit is the most underrated word in this country. I fear publishers of the famed oxford dictionary might have to publish special editions sans the word merit, for sale in India. To shoot the sales to meteoric heights they would rather introduce a new word 'Aarakshan' meaning 'suppression of the deserving, applicable only in India'.
3> Even if my children manage to get a decent quality of education, the chances of their getting employed would be as miniscule as Rakhi Sawants role in Main Hu Na! The only reason for their rejection by potential employers would be - yes, you guessed it right. The resume would have to mandatorily read like as follows to facilitate faster recruitment.
Name : Unaarakshit Mohnot
Age : 22
Sex : Male
Ed. Qualification : BE Mechanical
Reservation Category : None
4> The 1st of April would be the designated date for submitting application forms to secure S1B, S2B, ST1 and other types of Inter-state Visas. Did I hear you yelling 'Inter-state-visa' with double exclamation marks? People would not be allowed to move out of their respective states of birth without a valid Visa. Insufficient infrastructure being the secondary reason behind this exercise. Primary, Mr. A's wish. Any person residing in a state other than his/her birth without a valid visa would be considered as a threat to that state and put behind bars after his house, office have been stoned to ground-zero. Wondering why just one day for a population of 2 billion plus? Well there's just one fools day in a year. No prizes for guessing what the emails informing them of the visa status would read!
So, you see, I love my country very much and therefore i do not want to leave it in search of greener pasture for myself. But I love my children even more...
Friday, April 4, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)