Independence Day Celebrations

Today morning, while carelessly opening the newspaper, in my as-usual uninterested manner that afflicts many of us, I happened to see a small insert printed on a cheap paper. Cursorily I picked it up, thinking of crumpling it into a ball, and perfecting my 'middle aged' aim at a dustbin located far away.

But when I looked at the writing, it woke me up much more than my daily dose of green tea.
It was a letter addressed to the general public by one of the numerous mushrooming kid-schools in the vicinity. The school management, in it's letter to the public, was announcing “unique independence day celebrations by toddlers”.

At the outset, for many readers this would NOT seem unique, especially those of my generation. Recalling my school days and later, we always looked forward to, and felt at least a primitive level of national pride, during those celebrations. These events were carried out with much greater gusto and enthusiasm than what I can observe at present. Just look around and you may be surprised at the miniscule, and a pathetic lip-service paid to celebrating our national festivals, in the social setting ( and not the media inspired nationalistic surge that happens for 2 days on either side).

And therefore my pleasant surprise, at this invitation to public, by that school, to join them on the occasion of Independence day. Yes, some of you may think it as a marketing trick. But, the fact remains, they are doing something different from the current crop of institutions, and what may not have been witnessed by the current generation.

Going back to this note, they started by talking about the issue of patriotism, and how young can one be, to begin to understand and have love for India & all things Indian. Because love is the foundation of patriotism, it is a good idea to instill patriotism at an early age (when love as an emotion is relatively un-adulterated). An interesting comparison of this was the current kids love, recognition, and 'brand loyalty' to Barbie dolls, cartoon characters, Kellogs etc.
“It just means that they can love and relate to what ever they are exposed to over a period of time.”

The point made by the school was that they celebrate Independence day RIGHT ON 15th August, and not on a convenient non-weekend like 13, 14, or 16 Aug. This discipline, and willingness to create a minimal stretch is worth appreciation.

To instill this patriotism when young, this note talked about the kind of heroes kids see in the media, and emulate. It is the choice of 'heroes' that often affects the kind of behaviours that may be copied by kids, and then it becomes a habit. To change the situation, the school decided on a theme for this year's independence day : National Heroes, and some of them are :

Our National Heroes – Tilak, Shivaji, Rani of Jhansi, Gandhi, Bose etc.

Our Armed Forces – The army, navy and airforce are on a constant vigil, and are doing their duty in extreme conditions to preserve our nation, and the children must know about the bravery and valour of our soldiers.

Our Farmers – who toil day and night, to produce food for our sustenance, and who themselves may often be at the receiving end of exploitation and misery.

This reminded me of Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan..remember this slogan ?

The school is aptly calling these celebrations as grandparents day, a reminder of the ongoing neglect and apathy of those people who selflessly contributed to our growth and development, and the breakup of certain critical elements of our culture, in our penchant for the nuclear family.

The note goes on to say “ .. and how 'pester power' can make parents forget about running away on a holiday on independence day and force the parents to pick a tri-colour and join in while their kids show them the true meaning of patriotism and all the heroes that they love.”

This stray circular in the paper made me think and question the state of 'nationhood' in this country, and how most of the institutions have lost the interest, and enthusiasm to think of, and focus on this 'nation' at least during these national festivals.

My basic question is why should we have a full national holiday on these days like Independence Day/ Republic Day ? Since these days are celebratory of fundamentals of India as a nation, aren't we promoting national level laziness, and giving these festivals a 'personal take-off excuse'. What's the grand logic for making these days as 'gazzetted' holidays, and to the extent of forcing organizations to adhere to this sarkaari laziness, by punishing / admonishing/ putting strictures on organizations if people come to work on these days even of their own accord? Cases have been documented that this forced 'akarmanyata' has been so strictly enforced, that an employee may have to seek permission and/or give undertaking in writing, to get special security clearance to enter their office premises, IF they are working on these days.

A better policy could be that ALL offices to work half a day, after the recital of national anthem, affirming the national pledge, in front of the tri-color. Later it is to the discretion of the officer in charge to have any other celebratory and social activities on the theme of the national holiday, preferably with the family. Any absences should be noted, and posted on a public notice board. The trick of combining national holiday with others and going on a vacation, should be discouraged, by converting any holiday stretch that contains such a national festival into 2 times Leave Without Pay days. Obviously reasonable exceptions could be serious illness leading to hospitalization of self/ close family. This policy should apply to all Govt, Public, and Private sector organizations. Ideally speaking, following the dictum of 'be the change', this should first start with all government and public sector organizations, while the stricture of 'compulsory' holiday be removed for all other organizations. A case in point is the once archaic rule against personal hoisting/ usage of national flag, on days other than national festivals, by a private person.

Now come to schools/ institutions of learning. What stops them for instituting on themselves the discipline of having such celebration of 2 key national festivals. Or the education institutions just pay lip service and empty talk of nationalism and idealism? The schools should be tracked regarding the activities and attendance on these days, by the district administration/school boards/relevant regulatory bodies.

My overall concern in all this is an attempt to ideate, as to how can we slowly bring about a resurgence of national spirit which seems to be on it's death bed. Obviously national resurgence will not happen just by doing these things only, but these are a few of the many ideas that could bring about a revival in the way an Indian thinks about India.