REPUBLIC DAY
– THE TRUE NATIONAL FESTIVAL OF INDIA
‘Republic’-A
form of government where the head of the state is neither inherited nor a
monarch nor divine ruler but an elected one and is the representative of the
overall political will of the people of that state and today 135 out of
206 sovereign states use the word
‘republic’ as part of their official names.
So, democratic form of
governments and the word ‘republic’ are intricately linked though there were
some integrationist states like USSR which have used the word ‘Republic’ but
are not the one’s in true sense of the term.
But, we are different. We,
Indians are different .NO NO –India is different. it is hard to imagine a
country which is multi diverse, multi cultural, a home to all of the world’s religions except Confucianism and Taoism,
multi lingual, multi ethnic, with its varying geographical and climatic conditions from the south to north to west to
north east, more over a country which was never under a single empire except
for a brief period of time during the reign of Asoka and possessing many rivers
dividing the country into different swathes of lands with varying
productivities and types therefore
dictating the plethora of regional flavors-etc factors make India a miracle in
the world map and still it’s a nightmare to historians as to how this country
could remain united for so long.
Baring the oppression and
suppression of nationalism for over 250 years under colonial exploitation and
expansion , A largely illiterate
population with subsistent economy and whose resources are drained and
wealth was plundered by the British to
fuel their development and industries , having the Presence of many local
Rajas, Kings, Rao-bahaddurs, Nijams etc with their local fiefdoms , who were seen by their subjects as the men
born with the divine right to rule – when our first generation national
political leadership talked about “democracy “ and the right of Indians for
swaraj ( “self rule “) , it was seen by many nations, political scientists , authors
and the so called intelligentsia representing the then world order as a crude
joke. British denied us independence saying that we , Indians are incapable of
ruling ourselves and it is their military , police , administration and
governance structures that are making and safeguarding India and once they get
out they said “ India will plunge into chaos and Indians will become beggars “.
But we resisted. We fought. We
won. And we proved each one of them wrong and 65 years after successfully
conducting democratically elected parliamentary form of governments with
successive lok sabhas sitting and deliberating public policies , and the robust
constitutional framework proving time and again as the greatest strength and
the torch bearers of Indian democracy and the institutions like election
commission and CAG having gained international applause for their efficiency
and unitary judiciary upholding the rule of law and coming to the rescue of
common man very time it is required, Democracy in INDIA is not only a
successful experiment but also the one to be worth emulating .
The
idea of complete freedom ( the purna swaraj ) has become the sole objective of
Indian national movement was adopted in the Lahore session of INC on 26 Jan
1929 proposed by shri Jawaharlal Nehru under the steward guidance and
leadership of our beloved father of the nation sri Gandhiji and other eminent
national leaders which demanded the complete withdrawal of British forces from India
and ultimate self rule for Indians and India as a constitutionally bound
sovereign republic .When the British ultimately realized that their days in India were numbered , our
constituent assembly was formed with Dr. Rajendra Prasad as its chairman and
the proud son of India Dr. B.R.Ambedkar, being the head of the all important
drafting committee in Feb., 1946 after the cabinet mission plan.
I think, there was never in
history it so happened that a bunch of 350 odd people sat together with the
baggage of slavery in their minds, many differences, representing many social
and economical strata, baring with several points of views , to sow the seeds
of a nation with lofty ideals and extraordinary rights. In spite of their
differences , I feel , the underlying force behind the success of our
constituent assembly , therefore our country
was their unflinching zeal to make India proud of herself , their unwavering
patriotism and more so , their uncompromising faith on Indian people.
That is why we, the people of India
has given to ourselves the constitution which is the basic law of the land
forming the indestructible union of destructible states called India, that is
BHARATH on 26 Jan 1950 , an year later
after constituent assembly adopted and enacted it on 26 Nov 1949 as a sentiment
for upholding the date of purna swaraj resolution. As Ambedkar said in the
assembly, “democracy in India is a top dressing phenomena and we have to work
extremely hard to inculcate the values enshrined in the constitution to work
“. I can say, our politics were reasonably
successful in doing so till now.
Barely at the same time, a
nation came up from the wounds of ww2, which has seen two nuclear bombs, plunged
into economic and political disarray and whose constitution was drafted by 20
American military generals, Japan started its journey anew. Two parallel
happenings ,In India, when the efforts to plant the seeds of democracy,
universal adult franchise to 90% illiterate electorate, imagining giving fundamental
rights to people who do not know the
meaning of ‘right’ and never enjoyed one , Japan had lost everything to
America’s wills and wishes.
After 65 years of journey, both
the nations came far way. India has achieved significant things in the past 20
years and is in the twilight of making reforms both politically and administratively
delaying which it can ill afford and Japan became one of the strongest economic
powers and one of the biggest strategic partners OF India, our relationship has
been growing from strength to strength. That is why, upon seeing this year’s Republic
day guest Abe, the Japanese PM, evoked a sense of nostalgia in me and motivated
me to write this piece.
26th Jan is a true
festival day for India and all Indians must celebrate this as this is the day
we became a sovereign, socialist, democratic, secular, republic, this is the
day which gave new life to our sober souls and gave us an identity and a sense
of pride as the world’s largest functioning democracy. On this day , I appeal
to all my Indian brothers and sisters that Every principle, ideal, vision
enshrined in our constitution must be kept in mind and every citizen of India
must respect and show tolerance towards the diversity of India. One must keep
in mind that whatever we are, what may be our beliefs, faiths, interests- we
are first humans, then Indians and republic day must not become another public
holiday but is a day we must remember the founding fathers of this great nation
and must inject the spirit of constitution into our blood and re -dedicate
ourselves to strive for India’s prosperity and growth .
JAIHIND…
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