59 years ago on this day

59 years ago to this day, Pt.Jawaharlal Nehru's voice echoed throughout a nation, as he spoke of redeeming a substantial tryst with destiny. On the 15th of August 1947, some 90 years after India's First Freedom Fighter, Mangal Pandey was hanged, India, gained freedom and independence from British Colonialism. This day not only marked the culmination of the efforts of great Indian leaders like Mangal Pandey, Rani of Jhansi, Sardar Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, Mahatma Gandhi, but also the dawn of a new weapon in the fight against injustice, which proved to be more powerful than any other weapon previously used. The notion of non-violence, the idea that the enemy will lose its bearings, if mass civil disobediance was carried out without resulting in any violence, was untried and met with a lot of skecpticism. We were fortunate to have with us in those times, iconic leaders, who kept this spirit alive, and ultimately on the 15th of August, 1947, our dream, nay our vision, came true. However, in a bitter-sweet day, our leaders, had no other choice, but to accept the tragedy of Partition, the horrors of which we still continue to witness today.

My friends, today, we begin the 60th year of Independence, and India, is coming to take its rightful place in the world, as a nation having the world's largest democrarcy, as a nation home to a sixth of the world's population, we are seen as a major powerbroker, in our region of South Asia. We are also global leaders, and emerging leaders in the fields of IT, Biotechnology, Business Process Outsourcing, among others.

Today, we are in a unique passage of time. Our generation is probably more endowed in all fields than our previous generations. We know have the choices to make, rather than to blindly accept decisions thrust on us. Therefore, while we rejoice at these opportunities, we have, we also have a tremedous resposibility resting on each of our shoulders. We may not believe it, but the fact remains that the road for India, will be mapped by us. That is to say, we will decide the future our country takes. This burden, or rather, opportunity, is not to be taken lightly. If we shirk, or in any other way, under achieve, we will have to face questions from our future generations, and history will relegate our time as being one where we, although having the best of resources, talent and potential, were not performing to our full capability. To illustrate this, let us consider the following: 2 years before the Independence of India, Japan was obliterated by the USA in WWII. Today, its name is synonymous with the growth of cutting edge technologies. Japan may have had a 2 year headstart, but is this the real reason for this rocket powered growth? I am no economist, and will not go into the different economic paths that both countries may have taken.

What I have seen, is that we as Indians, including myself, have been indifferent to the way the country is run. For many of us, India is having problems because of a group of people we call as "they" or "them". However, none of us, are interested in working at the grassroots level to solve many problems which have their roots in the socio-economic structure of the Republic. There is an arguement, and a right one at too, that the Government of the day must be able to tackle this. However, I do not believe that we should leave everything in the hands of the Government. While the Government should look after both the well of and the not so well off, I also do believe that we as responsible, educated, and (mostly) urban citizens, there is a duty for us to help in this regard. As the first Prime Minister of India had said in the first Independence Day address, "Are we brave enough and wise enough to grasp this opportunity and accept the challenge of the future?"

Thankfully, in the past few years, I have seen that, there is a definite change with respect to how the youth of India, want the country to be run. We now have youngsters as MLAs and MPs, who inject fresh blood into democracy. This must contine on. This will continue on. Let us now make a pledge to proactively, participate in the governance of our nation. Jai Hind!! Jai Hind!! Jai Hind!!

Here is the President's Address to the Nation on the eve of Independence day
Here is the Prime Minister's address to the nation on the ramparts of the Red Fort, August 15 2006

Below is a photograph of the Tricolour in the celebrations occuring at Mawson Lakes campus.