A proud moment for Indians across the globe. Puja Thakur is the first lady officer who led the guard of honor for US president Barack Obama. As we usher within hours of Republic Day celebration, India faces several challenges both within our land and outside the country.
The Indian Government has been successful on the eve of 66th Republic Day to make the Nuke deal with United States a reality. Should we cheer up and join the party?
For hopefuls, it's a sign of India's growing clout among the SAARC countries where we can play a strategic role in dictating terms at the geo-political and economic level. It's high time that India lead the pack in the region since we played a miss-and-blinked appearance in the not-so-distant. Certainly, the future looks bright from a global perspective.
As we celebrate our Republic Day, there are some reflections that we need to make. While the Narendra Modi led BJP Government deserve pat on their back for sealing the N-Deal, Swach Bharat Abhiyaan by making a woman Puja Thakur the face of R-Day who will carve a place in history as an officer, there are certain things that we need to mull over.
India is a country that belongs to everyone, irrespective of caste, class, race or gender. Sadly, there have been the blending of religion with politics which doesn't make us very proud. The minority community are feeling alienated when unfortunate and dumb comments by politicians on ridiculous issues such as Ghar Wapsi, Hindus should have as many children as possible and, of course, the attacks by extremists against social crusader and writer Perumal Murugan in their attempt to strive his creative freedom. We are treading on a dangerous path and such extreme detour do not honor the Indian constitution and the country, as a whole.
As an India, my wish would be to see that sexual assaults, rape and violating a woman's character is history and absent in our land since it doesn't make us proud at all. As a vibrant Republic, we don't want our country to be mired in such mudslinging and attack against women who are our equal in society. One hopes that the Government would come with strict laws against perpetrators of violence against women.
It's a real tragedy when we see the mighty power of the patriarchal society and a system when men decide what is good and bad for women, how the latter should behave and what she must wear to respect the 'great' tradition. A women is labelled as deemed by society because she refuses to confine to the moral yardstick put in place by society. A change in mindset where we let a woman be who she is and respect her individuality is something the vibrant Republic of India is lacking. Blame it on our culture of oppression and repression.
One wish that we become more tolerant when it comes to religion and sexuality. Let's not stifle sexual freedom which is one of the reasons why there are so many crimes in society. How one wish that heinous crimes like honor killing, violating rights of prostitutes, homosexuals and stifling people on account of their caste and religion would be crushed forever. We want a new and fresh India where each and every person is respected and has the right to lead life on their own terms.
As an Indian, it's normal for us to crib on plagues such as corruption, red-tapism, stifling of creative expression and freedom. Yet, we love our India and would love to see our country cited as a model in the world. We have a rich history and legacy that we are proud of and it's time to stop being negative about the potential of India.
O' My country folks!
Let's strive in our expressions and differences.
Our freedom has no price.
Forefathers fought hard for us to breath freely and grow as human beings.
A dream for a better India,
is it too much to ask, fella countrymen and women?
Be proud of India.
Make our country proud of our actions.
Respect and tolerance.
Proud to be Indian
Jai Hind
Happy Republic Day
Vishal
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