Has Independence day become irrelevant?

August 15 2009 marks the completion of 62 years of Independence for India. This means that six decades and two years ago at midnight, our country was freed from external rule.



However, this reaction must not be mistaken for lack intelligence because everyone understands the implications of the historic event and the significance of the same.

Speaking to some of my friends about the very same issue, I learnt that the present generation feels distant from the battle of our forefathers fought so rigorously and successfully to deliver us from the evil of colonialism.

This lack of patriotic pull at least from the point of view of the Independence day comes from the belief that this independence was given from generation to generation through books and words of parents and history teachers.

The lack battles, wars, and struggles for the independence and the democracy has led the big I-Day to turn into just another holiday based on just another historic event.

So the real disturbing question is after 62 year, has the Independence day become irrelevant?

This attitude stems from the fact that the freedom from colonial rule is now just an ostensible condition.

With the globalisation, the countries have all come together under one umbrella culture aided by media and technology. We are colonised in another sense of meaning.

And what our freedom fighters fought for was the ultimately freedom from slavery. The very same slavery has just turned into the need to conform to global trends and react to global situations.

But in all this, we are forgetting to hold on to our culture, the tradition and our roots. However, this should not be mistaken with misunderstood musings of fundamentalists but achieved by embracing these roots with understanding.

So this independence day, let us identify ourselves as responsible 'global citizens of Indian origin' and really understand the implications of it.

Let us make this the time to free our country from the chains of divide and rule politics to the fundamentalism of certain organisations and unions motivated by power.

These are the enemies of the country today as they act as the forces that separate us from our countrymen and tear us apart from our roots.

It is time we defeat these enemies to unite as a country and celebrate under a different Independent sky.