- KRITI RAI
“Being Indian is not blood as much as it is
culture”- Tony Hillerman.
India, a country of many ethnic groups,a land of
throng languages, a veritable babel of tongues and numerous modes of apparel
celebrates its 67th republic day with great enthusiasm and fervour.
As Delhi turns into fortress with 50,000 security men, preparations for
ceremonial parade are in full swing.
But the perspective of denizens of India about
republic day seems to be altogether different. A national holiday, a day when
could get an extra hour of sleep in chilly winter, a time when various
e-commerce websites are hosting sales and luring customers, a day to remain
glued to television sets to watch parade and feel proud by getting glimpse of
various parts of india; humming patriotic songs, remembering freedom fighters,
spending quality time with friends and family that’s it. That’s how 26 January
each year like a wave of tide comes and goes. For most of us, celebrities are
heroes but it should be our soldiers who work day- night out to matter what
season at what location they are so that each one of us can sleep with peace.
They don’t celebrate festivals like we do for they need to be alert at border
for security. Like every human being they too have desires and dreams but they
have surrendered themselves in service of their motherland. Yet their wages are
not upto the mark. When we were busy celebrating New Year the terrorist jolted
the Pathankot Airbase claiming lives of high number of security personnel. Yet
the martyrs held their ground and showed unparalleled bravery. Ask their family
members how they feel, the 18-months old daughter of Lt Col Niranjan Kumar will
never again see her father, wont realise how much she was loved by him.
When we need to focus on crucial issues like this we
are busy fighting on matter like intolerance, reservation system etc. There is
a need to change. As is rightly said by M.K. Gandhi-“Our ability to reach unity
in diversity will be the perfect present for the test of our civilization.”We
need to start eradicating problems like terrorism at grass-root level.
Education is one of the main key. It is sad that even after 67 years only
Kerala is the state with 100% primary education. As President of India says an eco-system that fosters critical thinking and makes
teaching intellectually stimulating is necessary. It must instil a spirit of veneration
towards women that will guide social conduct of an individual throughout his
life. It must breed a culture of deep thought and create an environment of
contentment and inner peace.
We need to stand together and make this cherished
dream of Gandhiji come true.
# Happy Republic Day