What On Earth Are We Celebrating?

August 15th, 2010. India will be
celebrating its 64th
Independence Day. The radio
will be blaring ‘Aye mere watan
ke logon’. TV channels will
alternate between ‘Roja’, ‘Rang
de Basanti’, ‘Border’ and
‘Lakshya’. Schools across the
country will compel their
students to shed Sunday
morning sleepiness and partake
in flag-hoisting ceremonies.
Milestones will be recounted,
leaders glorified and saffron,
white and green will dominate
the landscape . Indians across
the country will wear patriotism
on their sleeve.
But I’ve been wondering what
are we actually celebrating? Are
we rejoicing over how corrupt
officials choose heftier bank
balances over national pride? Or
maybe we ’re happy about how
our elected representatives
decide to put the country ’s
security at risk to further their
own agendas.
Let’s sample a few headlines
from this past week to
determine whether ’tis the
season to be jolly:
The two biggest sports stories
of the year haven ’t been those of
individual excellence or teams
defying all odds to come out
trumps. They ’ve been the stories
of the IPL imbroglio and the
Commonwealth Games Fiasco,
with administrators from both
events under the scanner for
financial irregularities and other
malpractices. After Lalit Modi, it ’s
now Suresh Kalmadi’s turn to be
in the limelight for all the wrong
reasons. Delays, tottering venues
and an ever escalating budget
were only beginning signs of
the rot. Charges against Kalmadi
and other officials over the past
couple weeks have included
corruption, money laundering
and discrepancies in
broadcasting and sponsorship
deals . The CWG was supposed to
generate pride among citizens
and showcase India ’s ability to
stage a global event, but instead
has only managed to be the
source of worldwide
embarrassment.
The Indian cricket team, on
whom lies the brunt of the
nation ’s collective aspirations,
has also let us down this time
with a humiliating 200-run
defeat in Tuesday’s ODI against
New Zealand.
Industrial growth is at the
lowest its been in 13 months
even as inflation has
returned to double digits. Petrol
and diesel prices seem to be
hiked every month. Prices of
commodities like milk, cereals
and fruits have touched an all-
time high. Soaring expenses
means that even the middle class
are crossing out essentials from
their grocery list and the poor
are going hungry. This is even as
surplus foodgrains lie rotting in
godowns . Like the line from a
song in ‘Peepli Live’ goes: Sakhi
Saiyan khoob hai kamaat,
Mehngai daiyan khaye jaat hai
(Friend, my husband earns a lot,
but the inflation is a witch that
eats it all up).
The oil spill off the coast of
Mumbai last Sunday after two
cargo ships collided has brought
up severe environmental
concerns. Marine life and
migratory birds have been
affected and the livelihood of
thousands has been hampered
with estimated losses above Rs
85 crore per day. This
environmental hazard occurred
even as 25 years after the
Bhopal Gas Tragedy, the
Congress party faced allegations
of letting off the guilty under
political pressure . Victims of the
tragedy have till date not been
provided adequate
compensation and health care.
Elsewhere in India, an eight-
year-old girl was mercilessly
beaten up by her teacher for
failing to contribute Rs 2 to an
Independence day function . This
is the kind of ‘freedom’ kids in
this country enjoy, where
corporal punishment is an
everyday occurrence that rarely
comes to the fore.
Nature’s fury hasn’t left us
unscathed either. The cloudburst
and subsequent floods in Leh,
has turned entire towns to slush
and has left the area to appear
like a war ravaged battleground.
The death toll is at 183 and
mounting while over 200 people
are still missing.
Kashmir continued to boil this
week with this summer ’s death
toll from violence rising to over
50 . The Indian establishment
has been unable to win over the
Kashmiri population through
overwhelming force and the
protests in the valley are
directed against the military
presence. Bunkers and security
forces symbolise India for most
Kashmiris.
It’s not just Kashmiris who are in
the centre of internal strife. The
Maoist menace rears its ugly
head almost every day with
murders, kidnappings and
attacks now a common feature
in Naxal-dominated areas.
If all this wasn’t enough, the
deadly H1N1 virus seems to be
making a comeback. There has
been a sudden spurt in swine flu
cases with over 20 deaths being
reported in the past three days.
Are all the above reasons, cause
enough to celebrate? The
optimist in me will still search for
those odd success stories and
attempts to overcome calamities.
I too love my country and wish
to be proud of what I see
happening in it. To my
misfortune, events of the recent
past are making my wish seem
like just wishful thinking.
I don’t know about you, but
come Sunday, it will be difficult
for me to go about chanting
‘ Mera Bharat Mahaan’. Instead, I
might just be tempted to hang
my head in shame.