|
|
I don’t know why the movie was named so, but I would have named, “Be the Change”. That is the whole moral of the movie, Rang de basanti, which was released around the globe this week-end. After watching the movie in Somerville theatre here in Boston, I cannot keep my fingers at place without scripting my thoughts. This was my first movie in that theatre and the place looks antique from inside. I would not make any comment on the movie or the cast. But, the movie has surely aroused my mind to discuss about the new struggle for freedom – the freedom from corruption, the freedom from bureaucracy – overall, the freedom of living a better life in India.
Think about the struggle for independence in India between 1850 and 1947. We get a gamut of names to list who played important roles. We have the trio – Lal, Bal, Pal, we have Bhagat Singh and his men, and last but not the least, MK Gandhi and his men. Every Indian was involved in the freedom movement. Why did they fight for it? Didn’t they have better things to do in life? In 1857’s Sepoy Mutiny, did they know that India would be free from the hands of British? In March1931, when Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged to death, did they have hints that in August of 1947, India will attain independence? No one dreamt the exact date of free-India when Gandhi did the Non-cooperation movement (early 20s) and civil disobedient movement in 1930. People had a goal in mind, but time was the factor. The goal was to remove Queen’s hands from the subcontinent.
What was the reason to gain independence? Do we deserve it seeing the present state of affairs? No, we don’t deserve. We, the people of India, are not showing gratitude to those people who struggled for it. Yes. When the British rule was prevailing, rich were becoming richer, the poor, poorer. The acts and pacts helped the Dewans and toiled the javans who worked for meager pays. The lives of farmers became worse with taxation and rules of owning lands. No doubt, there were rich Indians in that era. Nawabs, Dewans, Kings of princely states, their officials, and a bunch of people in the society were the men who called the words. They were the esteemed class of society, the other part of society, filled with farmers, artisans, people in small industries and businesses, craftsmen, and the rest who constituted more than 80% of Indian population at that time.
‘Azaadhi’ – Freedom. Why ‘azaadhi’? To reform the situation then prevailed in India; to see a developed India and reduce and remove the barrier between the rich and the poor. If those people who died come alive and step their feet on India, they would surely rethink their effort. At most they would think is, “did we do a mistake?”, if not, “did our struggle go waste”, or, “does India deserve it?”.
Nearly 60 years past gaining full autonomous power, the country still has not completed the dreams of the martyrs. Let that be incomplete. At least, it has not fulfilled needs of one billion humans who presently strive for the struggle of a better life. Just ask a politician, “what are the reasons?” – Surely, he or she will start a lecture, “population, illiteracy, bla bla bla”. Show him the population density of Japan and mention the cost of living of few places around the globe. India is far better than many places. Illiteracy is soon going out. The old men on the hot seats don’t talk much about bureaucracy and corruption. Those men have completed their terms and have few pennies to make and put in their pockets. So, no complaints from them about the system.
Who will complain? Me, you, and the present youth. Who should take the next struggle into action? The coming generations. If previous century was the struggle for Independent India, this century should be the struggle for a Better India. We should join hands in making our motherland a better place to live with no conflicts and discriminations.
Talking about how to build our future, I think we need Gandhi-part 2. Take his example. Gandhi’s father was a dewan. MK Gandhi had a degree in Law from England. Why should a person with such good opportunities spend his life of fighting for freedom of land? The reason was his visit to South Africa. One should know the reason behind his South Africa journey from India. After his return to India from England, Gandhi did not find a suitable job. He was not allowed to teach English in school as he did not qualify for that post. Basically, Gandhi, in that critical phase of his life, was a loser. Hence, his Africa plan made him see the racial discrimination and aroused him to eradicate it. Gandhi was the mastermind in pulling the then youth into freedom movement. So, don’t you think, we need Gandhi-2? A Gandhi-2, who can drive the present to fulfill the dreams of the past to create a better future.
EMAIL: shyam738@yahoo.com Note: Articles are posted by our users. EkNazar.com is not responsible for the accuracy, errors/omissions of Articles.
Please see our full Terms of Use.
Customer Reviews:
Write a Review & Share your thoughts with Other Customers.
|
|
