‘Imprison’ing India’s Independence Day!

On the eve of 15^th August 1947, Lord Mountbatten, the last viceroy of colonial India handed over the reign of the Indian empire to the to-be Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Addressing the crowd, Nehru spoke of a tryst with destiny, a pledge being fulfilled, of waking up to life and freedom and being the master of its own future. Rightfully these words were greeted with a huge roar and accepted by the entire nation. Never had the nation been so alive or so united. These words have perhaps never been matched by the sixty threee independence speeches we have heard.

Independence Day is not a date to be remembered but a victory to be rejoiced; a day to celebrate the identity we won 63 years ago and if we are in any decent society today its because of the sacrifices millions of Indians made, the faces or names of many of whom are unknown to us. I was taught by my parents and teachers alike, of how significant this day was. And I would not be dishonest when I said it was as big as a Diwali or Holi. Thirty five years later, today when I look at this celebration, I can’t help but see what a mockery this day has become. The experience I had on our 64^th Independence day is something I will not be able to forget for a long time even if I wanted to.

I was thrilled the previous night, and for the first time happy that I would be up at 5 am and off to witness this glorious event. Unfortunately it turned out to be a nightmare personally and from what I saw, a shame for the nation. As I reached there by car, I received the first jolt, ‘No Entry’ for non-pass holders! I expected a certain portion to be cordoned off but this was miles from the flag hoisting point. If one has to park his/her vehicle, the least the government could do is inform where? To make matters worse, all vehicles with passes had clear directions, enter and exit points, and directions along the way. I realized that every year when I used to travel with those passes I felt terrible due to numerous security checks and jams. The experience of being at the Red Fort to attend the Independence Day celebrations without a pass, just like any other common man, was eye opening to say the least. How can more importance be given to the comfort of a small percentage of the population when the major chunk is suffering with no directions, no space and no idea what’s happening. Are we saying Independence is for those who can have Independence Day pass and not for every Indian? It was like we were back in theera of British rule when there was seating for Britishers and not for dogs, as Indians were referred to by British Sahibs. Are our own same coloured skin brethren with ‘Pass’ treating us the way Britishers treated these ‘Pass’ holders once?

After somehow finding a place to park my vehicle, I started walking towards the symbol of our freedom Red Fort, almost forgetting what I had seen, but more was in store. As soon as I reached the inner areas, security cover had increased and so had the frisking, as a personnel checked me thoroughly he mentioned that camera, mobiles, watches are not allowed. I was almost petrified when he said watches. “Watches?” I reacted. What? “Where do I keep my watch now?” I thought to myself. Trying to bargain my way, I requested him to understand, check it thoroughly but let me in. But he wouldn’t budge. He suggested me to throw the watch away? Caught by surprise, I now had to find a way to get rid of my watch. Throw away a Titan? He asked me to throw away thousands of hard earned money? Its not about patriotism anymore! If I am a tourist from out of town who has specifically arrived to celebrate the independence day with my fellow Indians with joy and togetherness, where am I to keep my belongings? On the streets?

I appreciated the politeness of the guard but soon saw how over worked they were and irritated by having to be awake all night. Delhi Police boasts of strength of almost 60,000 personnel and during the biggest event of the year they are unable to present a guard who would be able to perform his duty with enthusiasm rather than fatigue. I realized the government had done nothing prior to the event to inform citizens of what would be the norms on the day so that visitors would take necessary precautions. I chose to walk away, with anger and disgust. And I wasn’t the only one, the apathy of the event was witnessed and the difficulty was borne by several hundred maybe even thousands of Indians who had come from different states, poor, middle class, rich, alike. I managed to notice a few guests from other countries. I was never more ashamed of my country till this moment, a foreign guest arrives to witness this once in a year event and they don’t get allowed in for having a time-keeper? What about “Atthithi Devo Bhava”? Only words, I suppose. But most dangerous of all, what all this is doing is, it is  killing the already low levels of patriotism in our country. Patriotism is feeling which is very personal and very difficult to measure but maybe dwindling attendance in national celebration is an indicator. These instances are further killing the little patriotism left. A majority of youth today already seem to believe politics is dirty and not a career worth choosing, the future of our country looks bleaker no matter how India Shining stories we hear. Social harmony cannot be achieved only through economic prosperity.

For all those who think that I am just another criticizer of the system and not an active contributor to solution, I do have some innovative ways using which this national shame could have been avoided. For starters, informing publicly about the strictly not allowed commodities during the event would have largely helped the public as well as the state handle the situation.  Usage of internet, government sites and physical installations, banners and posters at municipal allowed spaces would have greatly helped. Even if a political party thought and did this for the benefit of the public, I assure you there would have been a few thank you votes in their ballot next year. Coming to the parking nuisance, when majority of the public are not VIPs provision of parking for the common man is nothing less than common sense. Could a bus service be provided to the general public which could help travel the long distance a little comfortably? What if you had a kid or an elder citizen accompanying you? Who by the way are more than 40% of the country’s population. At the security check counters, stationing of fresh enthusiastic guards and a locker facility. We are mortals, we forget, we must adjust but asking people to throw away their valuables?

Often a question raised to difficulties arising out of extra security is that “Isn’t all this done for your own safety?” I have an example to prove providing security is not a problem; its how you manage security at these events without killing the very joy of it. In New Delhi, during the 1990s, it was a common phenomenon to see traffic being halted for perhaps every government official with a red siren on their car and above average post. This caused major jams, wait every other hour and pained not just the common man, but businesses across who found their employees or even themselves stuck in unprecedented jams. Then came a wave of common sense where even for the person holding the highest office of the state, traffic was regulated such that these cars would not stop and move swiftly from one end of the city to the other and traffic would be held at bay for at most 2-3 minutes. The concept was a simple Just-in-Time management. Back-to-back Green signals in the route of the official’s route, the quicker s/he passes, the faster traffic returns to normal. And not extending this to every Lalu, Raja and Sushma in the government system is in my thought a good lesson in humility. This was a great and much needed relief. The learning for me is by a whole system thinking and strict implementation these security concerns which create havoc can be curbed.

If the head of state fees so afraid in his country and his presence pains so many thousands of individuals, I humbly request you Dr. Manmohan Singh and all other dignitaries to use technology and unfurl the national flag from their respective offices. The click of a button could unfurl the flag and you could still be respectful through this. But at least, an Indian will be able to celebrate his country’s freedom freely at Red Fort and not having to turn back because Prime Minister’s security is more important than an Indian’s wish to see his national flag fly high. How wonderful would it be if 28 kids from the 28 states of country unfurled the national flag together. What a message would that be? And if your words are even half as powerful as that of Jawaharlal Nehru’s independence speech, the nation will rise in a roar and this nation would have changed forever. It’s all about wanting to give the right message, being enthusiast before asking for enthusiasm, being adjusting before asking others to adjust, giving support before asking for it.

What I ve written here is a small account of an experience, it moved me to share my thoughts and as a sign of my want to change, I lifted my pen. They say the pen is mightier than a sword, let the message spread that we shall not accept any more shameful acts, we shall not be prisoners in our own country. Independence is our right and we shall not trade it for anything.

Jai Hind!

This article is ghostwritten for Surya Prakash Loonker by Mayank Solanki, founder of Yuva – the Ignited Minds!