Independence Day - A thought

I am back after a short hibernation and here is wishing everyone a very Happy Independence Day and Happy Teej too (for those who celebrate that).

So how did everyone celebrate ? I did not do anything for particular because of the virus at home.I did read NM's post on Independence day and I realized how times have been changing.Getting hooked to Doordharshan to see the Flag,going to school to hoist the flag.Performing plays and dances to portray the spirt of patrotism, singing the National Anthem.Coming back with sweets and full enthusiasm and watching some special movie on the patrotism used to be our routine on 15th August and 26th January year after year. But things changed and these are now just sweet memories.

Our grandparents use to tell us stories about freedom struggle with great passion but with each passing generation we are loosing that passion. Times are changing , like Doordharshan was replaced by Cable network and now Tata sky.Now schools do not have a compulsary attendence on Independence day and Republic day.Parents think that clubbing the day with weekend can mean a vacation. Kids these days, no longer feel the same enthusiasm for the celebration as we did.They are happy because they get a HOLIDAY in the mid of August and in chilly January winters.I asked few of my colleagues as what did their kids do yesterday and all of them told that kids bunked the school.No one feels its worth to go to school for just flag hoisting.People are bored listening to same speeches by Presidents and Prime Ministers year after year.They hardly say something new.

60 years have gone by.60 long years.Generations have changed.Soon we will have no eye witnesses of the freedom struggle.How do we maintain the same enthusiasm.Sooner or later our independence struggle will just be read in our history books in class VII.Coming generations will not be able to visualize the passion, the struggle ,the pain and the effort. Few people will judge the rights and wrongs and what could have been different.We will always have two national holidays.Flags will still be hoisted as a custom and more as a RULE on all the govt.buildings.

To be frank, do we really need independence day to feel patriotic.And should that be celebrated in the same way year after year.I think we should move ahead and find new ways to celebrate our freedom.Ways which our kids feel a part of.Ways which are just not customary. So that Independence day and Republic day do not become just holidays.