Chitto Jetha Bhayshunyo

Let my country awake!

Photo by Devansh Bose on Unsplash

As I write this, the country that I was born in (and am a citizen of) is celebrating completion of 75 years of its independence. Probably at this very moment, millions of children are heading off to their respective schools to hoist the national flag and pay respects to the nation. It used to be this great tradition - Head to school early morning, way earlier than usual, do your bit for an hour or so, and then head home and spend the rest of the day playing whatever you felt like with all your friends who had just done the exact same thing in their respective schools. I have had years where I mourned the Independence Day falling on the weekend, because it meant the loss of a otherwise well-earned respite from the rigors of school.

Now, thanks to the technology and the wonderment called Whatsapp and LinkedIn I keep getting constant reminders of how wonderful a time it was. A time where we respected our elders and didn’t question them. No matter if those elders taught us all sorts of scientific curiosity or bigoted filth. The fact that they reached that stature, meant whatever they told us was Gospel.

Now that I think about it, I really don’t think anyone from my generation really outgrew that age of innocence. We still lap up whatever is piled up, just that our Gods have changed. I have a gazillion status updates of everyone holding a tricolour flag (purchased from the local post office for INR 25/-, with all the funds going to some third party non governmental agency that is going to buy some electoral bonds, I am sure), just because someone told them to do that. Each indulging in some form of a pissing contest where if you aren’t doing the bare minimum of matching me, you aren’t patriotic enough in my eyes. You HAVE to go above and beyond my level of patriotism to be seen as a patriot.

And don’t you know, patriotism trumps everything else?

I wonder if the kids that are right now on their way to school, have the same sense of wonderment as we used to. Do they have the same naivete that we did when we lapped up every single thing that was taught to us as the Gospel straight out of the mouth of whatever Gods (human or divine) we all believed in? Or will they be part of a culture of inquiry and curiosity - a culture of finding out for themselves what is and isn’t, not resting on the words of someone from way above?

Will my country awake?

Or will the 100th anniversary be another version of competitive patriotism?