"It's Sunday morning and I am trying to sleep longer. But those blaring speakers won't let me sleep. I don't know why these people are putting up those songs this early. It's Sunday morning after all! I try my best to catch some sleep. But then I can't. So I decide to check some social networking sites with the hope that somebody else will also be awake. As I pick my smartphone from my bedside table, I glance at the date- 26th January it says and then I realize what those speakers are all for. It is Republic Day! And how I hate the fact that Republic Day has come on a Sunday. I'd have got one more day off if it were to come on a weekday. 2014, I hate you! And as I check my news feed I find many people posting "Happy Republic Day" and I too do it. "Happy Republic Day!". And I'm done."
Does this sound familiar? Yes it does because this is the story of a majority of the youth of our nation. Republic Day has become just another holiday. It's significance reduced to just a status update. We tend to forget the fact that it was on this day that we got our Constitution without which our life would be in utter chaos with no rules and regulations to govern us. How would life be like without having any rights? And what about our duties? We tend to forget them too.
We love to highlight the fact that we have the right to freedom of speech and expression and we revolt if somebody tries to take it away from us. But then who has given us the right to speak ill of someone or accuse someone of something that they haven't done. We speak of equality but why is a rich man given kingly treatment when he goes to a government office and a poor man made to wait all day? Why do we still discriminate between a girl child and boy child? Why do our politicians practice vote bank politics by trying to favour the votes of particular communities by providing them sops? Is this justified? We raise our voices against exploitation when it is happening outside but what about the exploitation that we see every day in our surroundings? We fight for our rights but do we fight for others rights as well? Or are we taking away others rights in some ways?
The fact that most of us tend to forget is that with rights also come duties and fulfilling our duties makes us better citizens than just claiming our rights! How many of do respect our national anthem, our national flag and other national symbols? We blame our politicians for not governing us well. But were we during elections? Wasn't it our responsibility to vote rather than just enjoying a holiday? We are against corruption but we don't mind greasing the palms of the traffic cop when we are caught by him and we don't mind giving a little extra to get our work in government offices done. Isn't all of it hypocrisy? I know I'm being harsh, but isn't it true?
India has taken giant strides and has become come a long way from what it was in 1950. Yet it is still a developing nation. We the youth have the responsibility to take it forward and make it force to reckon with. And it is only possible if we become more patriotic and more responsible in our daily lives rather than just being patriotic by words. The choice is ours. We can make it or break it. Lord bless our country and may it grow and become an example to others!
Happy Republic Day!
