I am not celebrating the 75th Indian Independence Day. And I advise you strongly not to celebrate. Patriotism is not remembering the freedom fighters; nor is it crying after listing to some so-called patriotic songs of the Bollywood like “AYE MERE WATAN KI LOGO”. I am not a patriot in that way. Please allow me to explain:
You say that our government is in efficient; You say that our laws are too old; You say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage; You say that the telephone network doesn’t work; the railways are useless; the airlines are the worst in the world; You say that our country has been fed to the dogs. You say, say and say! What do you do about it?
Let us take a person on his way to Singapore. Give him a name – YOURS. Give him a face – YOURS.
- You walk out of the airport, and you are at your international best. In Singapore, you do not throw cigarette butts on the roads. You are proud of their underground railways. You pay $ 10/- (Rs. 800/-) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of the Necklace Road Hyderabad) between 5 pm and 8 pm. You come back to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket, if you have overstayed, irrespective of your status & identity. In Singapore you do not say anything. Do you?
- You do not dare to eat in public during Ramadan in Muscat or Dubai. You would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah.
- You would not dare to speed beyond 100kmph in Muscat and then tell the traffic police “Janta Hai Sala, main kaun hoon? (Do you know who I am?) I am so and so’s son. Take your money and get lost.”
- You would not throw an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand.
- Why don’t you spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo; You do not buy fake education – certificates in Boston?
We are still talking of the same you!! You can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries, but cannot in your own. You will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you land in India. If you can be involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why can’t you be the same in India?
In an interview, the ex-municipal commissioner of Mumbai – Mr. Tinaikar – had a point to make: “Rich people’s dogs are walked on the streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place. And then the same people criticize and blame the authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect the officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure of his bowels? In America, every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job. Same in Japan. Will the Indian citizen do that here?”
We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility. We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us, while our contribution is negative. We expect the government to clean up, but we are not going to stop throwing garbage all over. We are not going to stop to pick up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide Vande Bharat, but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms. We want Air India & Vistara to provide the best of food and toilets, but we not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity!
When it comes to burning social issues like those related to women, dowry, girl child and others, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse. Our excuse “If the whole system that has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my son’s right to a dowry”?
Who is going to change the system? What does a system consist of? Conveniently for us it consists of our neighbors, other people, other cities, communities and the government. But definitely not me & you. When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system, we lock ourselves along with our families in our homes and look into the discount other countries and wait for a Mr. Clean to come and work miracles for us!
Shedding a tear or two when a soldier dies on duty or discussions about Pakistan or a cricket match cannot be patriotism. Similarly saluting the national flag or remembering the great sacrifices either in the garb of ‘Amrit Mahostav’ or ‘Meri Mati, Mera Desh’ is not patriotism. The ‘Desh Bhakti’ of a citizen lies in his positive contribution that helps us change the system. Mahatma, Tilak and Gurudev etc. will be happy not when we offer floral tributes; but when we make our contribution to the system. Everybody is a born patriot; it is the society that curbs their patriotism.
Therefore, I feel ashamed to call myself a Patriot. Do you now understand “Why Am I Not a Patriot?”
About the Author
Dr. K. Raja Gopal Reddy is a seasoned internationally qualified Insurance professional.
What you are reading here, may not answer all the questions we have, but has the absolute power of asking unsettling questions which increase the interest in the strange world, and show the contradictory wonders lying just below the surface of the commonest things of life. Look at this disturbing but beautiful thought of Friedrich Nietzsche “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him”.
Dr. Reddy can be reached at: raja66gopal@gmail.com
