To celebrate or not to celebrate??

Some days back on July 4th , America celebrated yet another independence day. Another lovely night where we were treated to the amazing sight of fireworks coupled with some live band performances. Sadly for many of us the Independence Day came on a  weekday thus postponing the long weekend plans.

As I observe year after year the Independence Day celebration here in the United States, I am always reminded of the Independence Day celebrations in my country, in India. The day starting with some patriotic songs being played on the radio, the flag hoisting in schools and colleges , the parade and the speech of the Prime minister. All this has been going along in the same  way  since 65 years- yes that’s how long we have been independent! However when I look back today, I often wonder besides cherishing the memory of our freedom fighters who fought the war for our Independence, what else have we done for 65 years? No doubt we are way ahead of where we were when we got our Independence. But today have we become truly independent so as to celebrate this day with usual pomp and glamour? Have we freed ourselves from the shackles of illiteracy and poverty? Have we made our country safer for women and children to venture out fearlessly? Moreover have we made it a better place than it was prior to independence or have we deteriorated it further?

It is not the celebration that bothers me, but the reason for celebration, some great men with their mighty deeds got us our independence, but should we become complacent with it? It has been sixty five years since sacrifices were made but does that mean we should rest on our laurels and keep singing accolades for what happened rather than creating new landmarks? There indeed has to be a celebration – when India gets freedom from corruption, when the entire country can fully proclaim itself as a literate nation, when we have the world’s best education system and much more.

These goals are not lofty, all they require is planning, which we sadly lack. So why not keep the Independence Day as a yardstick to measure how far we have come in our planning? If the target is eradicating illiteracy, so be it. Let us keep it as a target for next 4 years and take the Independence Day as an opportunity to announce how close we are to achieving the target. The Republic Day can be used to measure the bi-yearly progress; we can seriously do away with spending millions of rupees in guarding the VVIPs, the PM and other dignitaries. The funds spent on that day could be invested in achieving the targeted goal. The entire week can be used to identify and to rectify the loopholes in our system. The day this happens we will be truly Independent in all senses – we will truly make India Shining!!