There is an aura about the Independence Day which is unmistakable... But the sense of oneness, the patriotism, the pride of being a minuscule of the ‘World’s largest democracy’ are all present for a fleeting moment of time in all our minds: for most people, 26th January wouldn’t be significant as a day if it were not a holiday. Yes, this is, by no means an exaggeration – one of the biggest sorrows of our nation is the lack of patriotism. We would pray to our Gods if Sachin Tendulkar was suffering from a virus fever but we do not know or even if we do know, we wouldn’t care about the life of Jawans who protect our border. I know this kind of talk may sound vague or boring to a lot of us, but, what do we do as a collective unit? I mean, we all care for ourselves, our families and our friends but how much to we worry about our nation? How many of us are even prepared to vote for the person of our choice? Most of us are too lazy to walk to the polling booth; again, election day remains predominantly as a holiday for most of us.. I am not making any suggestions here; I’m not asking anyone to change – I myself, am really flawed! But there is one thing about the others that I cannot simply comprehend: selfishness.
Yes! People are so much concerned about their well being that they do not wish to help a bleeding man on the road; that they never offer a seat to an old man/woman in a crowded bus; that they condition their children to not litter the house whereas they never think twice about spitting in public!! Such incomprehensible selfishness! And to these people, I would say that they do not deserve to celebrate or wish anyone else a Happy Republic Day. If you can litter on the streets and not on your home, if you can hide all your money and refuse to pay even a small percentage of your taxes, if you prefer to stay home during the elections, then you do not deserve to celebrate the republic day and for the rest: HAPPY REPUBLIC DAY!! ;)
