I could have spoken about the grandeur of the celebrations and such things, but this is more about what I believe is important for us to do to make sure we are doing our bit for the nation.
61 years ago, on this very day, the supreme law of our land, the constitution of India came into force and India became a democratic republic. 26th January is definitely a day when we remember how thousands of people fought against repression and tyranny to win freedom, this freedom on which the edifice of our constitution currently stands. This is surely a day when we remind ourselves about the hopes and dreams with which this document came into force as the fundamental law of our land. But it’s not quite enough if we see the significance of this day only from the historical perspective. Every red letter day that we commemorate has to be seen from the light of the past, present and the future, because every red letter day not only reminds us about the history. but also enlightens us about the present and inspires us for the future.
At present India has definitely achieved great strides in almost all the sectors compared to the 1950s, but as we all know, there are many aspects in which we need lots more progress. We also know that there are many hinderances to development, but the greatest obstacle of all, as I see it is the sense of helplessness in so many of our people today. This sense of helplessness I’m talking about, it stops us from raising our voices for any cause; it stops us from fighting for our own rights and it prevents us from standing against anything that’s unjust, including corruption. Many of us, at one point in time feel like victims of the system, powerless before the government and as a result become indifferent or cynical, which is highly unfortunate because it could only mean that we haven’t understood our constitution that well.
We often forget that the preamble of our constitution goes like: “We the people of India having solemnly resolved to constitute India…” and so on. The key phrase is ‘We the people of India’ meaning that it was the people, our ancestors who created the constitution and it’s the people, us who will be enforcing and upholding it. It means that we are the government, that we form the government, that we have the power and it’s we, as the people of India who determine the destiny of our country. Only when we realize this can we expect more progress and more positive changes, because a country is only as great as its citizens are. And technically speaking, the future of India depends on us, on all of us.
So this Republic Day, let’s take an oath to protect our country from our own ignorance and indifference, by being more aware of the present and more hopeful about the future. Let’s also change ourselves before expecting the world to change around ourselves. Thus, let’s make a difference in our country.
61 years ago, on this very day, the supreme law of our land, the constitution of India came into force and India became a democratic republic. 26th January is definitely a day when we remember how thousands of people fought against repression and tyranny to win freedom, this freedom on which the edifice of our constitution currently stands. This is surely a day when we remind ourselves about the hopes and dreams with which this document came into force as the fundamental law of our land. But it’s not quite enough if we see the significance of this day only from the historical perspective. Every red letter day that we commemorate has to be seen from the light of the past, present and the future, because every red letter day not only reminds us about the history. but also enlightens us about the present and inspires us for the future.
At present India has definitely achieved great strides in almost all the sectors compared to the 1950s, but as we all know, there are many aspects in which we need lots more progress. We also know that there are many hinderances to development, but the greatest obstacle of all, as I see it is the sense of helplessness in so many of our people today. This sense of helplessness I’m talking about, it stops us from raising our voices for any cause; it stops us from fighting for our own rights and it prevents us from standing against anything that’s unjust, including corruption. Many of us, at one point in time feel like victims of the system, powerless before the government and as a result become indifferent or cynical, which is highly unfortunate because it could only mean that we haven’t understood our constitution that well.
We often forget that the preamble of our constitution goes like: “We the people of India having solemnly resolved to constitute India…” and so on. The key phrase is ‘We the people of India’ meaning that it was the people, our ancestors who created the constitution and it’s the people, us who will be enforcing and upholding it. It means that we are the government, that we form the government, that we have the power and it’s we, as the people of India who determine the destiny of our country. Only when we realize this can we expect more progress and more positive changes, because a country is only as great as its citizens are. And technically speaking, the future of India depends on us, on all of us.
So this Republic Day, let’s take an oath to protect our country from our own ignorance and indifference, by being more aware of the present and more hopeful about the future. Let’s also change ourselves before expecting the world to change around ourselves. Thus, let’s make a difference in our country.
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