79th Independence Day of India
As India celebrates its 79th Independence Day, it is time for us to reflect on the years that have passed since 1947. Have we truly turned independent? Yes, on paper, we are an independent nation. But with so many problems plaguing us, I sometimes doubt when we will become truly independent.
Yes, I feel safest in my country, India. Nowhere else have I felt so independent! But what I am talking about here is our dependence upon different kinds of falsehoods – false prestige, false this, false that, and false whatnot! We are living in a huge web of false information that we consider true and strive to become falser by the day!
The huge web of vices surrounding us
More glaring concerns are the rise of communalism, distrust, hate, Islamophobia, and extreme intolerance (bordering on narcissism!). How have we gone from being one of the most tolerant people to being one of the most intolerant? Not everyone is like that. But impatience is hitting the sky.
We commit wrong things and break the laws with impunity without the slightest remorse. It is as if the other person doesn’t exist at all. All that matters is I, my family, my everything! Let the whole world go to the dogs. Rapes are being committed without the slightest fear of the law. This is despite stringent acts such as the Nirbhaya Act, 2013, Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
And for sexual crimes against minors, despite the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 being present, even minors are committing or helping others commit rapes. Something is seriously wrong with us. No woman is safe in this country. What with alcohol flowing freely in the majority of the states of India? Adding fuel to the fire! When will we start letting women have their ‘Independence Day’?
Breaking the laws and damaging the environment is embedded in us.
Corruption and red tape hinder quick and real progress. Everyone expects something ‘extra’ to do their regular duties! There are just a few non-corrupt people. Like the proverbial unicorns! Let us shed even ‘seemingly’ harmless bad habits like obstructing the traffic, talking on the phone while riding, dumping garbage in gutters or empty spaces (when no one is seeing!), and countless other ones! Encroaching upon government land or even the land of the general public also tops these endless lists of bad habits.
Let us strive to work hard where we are, manage with whatever resources we have, and create and offer something of value to society. We need to increase our ‘dignity of labor’ quotient, our ‘tolerance’ quotient, and above all, the ‘humanity’ quotient. And start living as human beings first. Anything else should come later.