The Independent Me

Well I had been raring to write this post since the 15th of August. But owing to a few obligations and a poor net connection in our hostel rooms, I had to postpone it for the next few days.

It was early in the morning of the Indpendence Day when a friend woke me up asking if I would accompany him to the flag-hoisting grounds in our campus. Did I really need to get out of my deep slumber, leave my beautiful dreams and walk all the way to watch our new Vice-Chancellor hoisting the tricolour? Definetely it was worth it. But I did not go and went back to my dreams. Someone reading this post might call me unpatriotic. But  it was not me alone. I would say for sure that half of India might have been disappointed that Independence Day was a Sunday this year. A holiday wasted!!!!!!

Are we really independent? Have we become independent just because the Union Jack got replaced by the Tricolour 64 years back ?

15th August, 2004. Dhemaji. My hometown in Assam. A powerful explosion blew down 13 people to death in the parade grounds of our town - minutes before the Tricolour was hoisted in the parade grounds. Amongst those thirteen victims, ten of them were schoolchildren. The rest three were ladies. Later, post-mortem reports revealed that two out of  those three ladies were pregnant at the time of their death. What was their fault that they were made to cross the Ajax for no reason? Going for the celebrations  of Independence Day could not be a fault. Till today, the sight of the thirteen bodies laid on the grounds of our district civil hospital flashes in my mind. Still, the wailing voices of the mothers who lost their kids echoes in my heart. Still, every Independence Day reminds the people of Assam this dark day in our state. Therafter, parents in Assam stopped sending their kids for Independnce Day parades. 15th of August became just another holiday for most of the people in the state. Many children who have grown up in Assam in this decade have almost lost the habit of attending Independence Day celebrations. Did the terrorists who hated India win through this bomb-blast? They did not. They will not. For people like us, Independence Day need not be celebrated by hoisting the National Flag. In heart and mind, I am a  citizen of the independent India - the world's biggest democracy. Basting a few crackers (read : bombs) could stop the people from atteding flag-hoisting ceremonies. But it could not take away from the heart of the people the feeling of Indianness. The pride of being a part of this great nation.