Remembering the Independence day. I think we should perhaps restrict it to remembering and acknowledging than gushing about how happy we are.
Good reasons for such strong words. It is a 70 year old story since the colonial masters left us to drive our own destiny. We do our token nods, listen to the mandatory speeches and then move on with our hill station celebrations of the extended weekend. Soam I grudging the celebration at the hill station? Not at all.
Just peeking back to look around us and wondering if everything we see around us is replete with something to be proud of. Let us stop taking credit for something like progress on industrialisation, literacy, modern towns everything that will come by default with very routine governance in a very large country successfully collecting taxes.
But even 70 years after independence we do still roll down your windows to buy your flags from little children dangerously running between the vehicles at the traffic light. We acquire a noble look at the gesture of having contributed to the economical upgradation for the day of a young tot. And by god we did not even negotiate. We did not try to rally any support for our give 3 for 10 rupees line. We let it go. How noble of us. We preen inwardly !
But how did we dismiss the thought that a country no matter its mechanical sojourns to Mars and the third largest army in the world still has children on the street. It is not something we can escape no matter how tinted our car windows become.
Recently we had a law passed which allowed a controlled participation by children in family occupations. I am sure the government has its own compunctions in allowing this to happen. Perhaps a long term plan to register and then act. As in every other laws impacting the country the current government is more trustworthy to come up with something that will protect the masses and especially children.
It may be a strong and spoilsport view but I think we should not gloat of being a powerful and progressive successful country till the last child is off the street and either in schools or in protected environment.
Alleviation of poverty in adults is still some distance away but maybe time to think if we need to gush on occasions as a nation while our little ones try to earn their money to survive.
And for the critics this is not a party dampener or a communist view but a call to our conscience to ask if we are really happy after 7 decades of independence if it does not include ALL OUR CHILDREN ?
Good reasons for such strong words. It is a 70 year old story since the colonial masters left us to drive our own destiny. We do our token nods, listen to the mandatory speeches and then move on with our hill station celebrations of the extended weekend. Soam I grudging the celebration at the hill station? Not at all.
Just peeking back to look around us and wondering if everything we see around us is replete with something to be proud of. Let us stop taking credit for something like progress on industrialisation, literacy, modern towns everything that will come by default with very routine governance in a very large country successfully collecting taxes.
But even 70 years after independence we do still roll down your windows to buy your flags from little children dangerously running between the vehicles at the traffic light. We acquire a noble look at the gesture of having contributed to the economical upgradation for the day of a young tot. And by god we did not even negotiate. We did not try to rally any support for our give 3 for 10 rupees line. We let it go. How noble of us. We preen inwardly !
But how did we dismiss the thought that a country no matter its mechanical sojourns to Mars and the third largest army in the world still has children on the street. It is not something we can escape no matter how tinted our car windows become.
Recently we had a law passed which allowed a controlled participation by children in family occupations. I am sure the government has its own compunctions in allowing this to happen. Perhaps a long term plan to register and then act. As in every other laws impacting the country the current government is more trustworthy to come up with something that will protect the masses and especially children.
It may be a strong and spoilsport view but I think we should not gloat of being a powerful and progressive successful country till the last child is off the street and either in schools or in protected environment.
Alleviation of poverty in adults is still some distance away but maybe time to think if we need to gush on occasions as a nation while our little ones try to earn their money to survive.
And for the critics this is not a party dampener or a communist view but a call to our conscience to ask if we are really happy after 7 decades of independence if it does not include ALL OUR CHILDREN ?
pic courtesy:festival celebration blogspot
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