By Sahil Mehta
I sit to write this out after having spent hours on designing this issue. So please forgive me if my writing reflects a little of my fatigue.
I sit to write this out after having spent hours on designing this issue. So please forgive me if my writing reflects a little of my fatigue.
One of the good things about designing is that you get to read all the articles beforehand, to be able to lend support to the emotions and facts stated, by illustrating them. Another thing is that you are able to compare the different trains of thought people have. When we planned this issue I was a little skeptical about the response of people. Republic Day has lost its charm and importance from the days when I was back in school. There is no longer the excitement in getting up early and watching the parade or going to school for march-past.
Maybe the fatigue of so many problems is showing on Indian society too! Independence Day and Republic Day for me are too key moments in India’s history. 15th August 1947 was the day India was reborn as a free nation. In 1950, we gave ourselves a constitution and in effect grew up. Do these days hold any significance other than the historical one? Probably not I thought. I thought wrong. The articles that we’ve got from people this time clearly reflect that every time we celebrate Republic Day or Independence Day it reminds people of the challenges that India faces. The most striking thing however was the fact not one of the articles really blames the government, the British or for that matter anyone on the outside. All of them talk about how “we” need to be the harbingers of change. How we, the people, have to take responsibility! On our 61st Republic Day, I think we can finally say India has matured.
Restlessness communicates to me through each article; a desire to make a difference burns through the length of them. I remember talking to Vakul a few days back and discussing how ours is a generation in conflict with itself. It comforts me to know that we are trying to force ourselves to a new direction. One where we look beyond ourselves and lead the world into a new era!
On a final note, I’d like to remind people that there is a difference between Republic Day and Independence Day. Republic Day is not a celebration of freedom but that of national identity. It is not a remembrance of the fallen but a carnival of unity. It doesn’t hurt to remember our heroes, but it isn’t the day to spend singing sad songs.
And now I shall go rest, lessen my fatigue. And I will do that with peace in my mind, for I am now convinced that loads of people stay up at night struggling with the same thoughts, how can we make our country better!
