Tempting Grit...!!

INDEPENDENT INDIA --- DO WE RESPECT WHAT WE HAVE GOT???

"shaheedon ki chitaon par judenge har baras mele

vatan par mitne walon ka yehi baaqi nishaan hoga"

A very happy Independence Day to all of you.Salute to each and every person who sacrificed their comfort, family and life for the independence that we are enjoying today.

Friends can we imagine not being independent and being enslaved by anybody let alone Britishers?

No we can't!

We dread of even thinking about it.This should give us the idea how important it is for us-- freedom...

"kabhi wo din bhi aaega jab apna raaj dekhenge

jab apni hi zameen hogi aur apna aasmaan hoga"

But sadly we hardly value it and take it for granted! Think of it,someone sacrificing their life,can this be such petty issue that can be forgotten?We should remember that if they did not have done so much for us, we might still have been slaves.They did not tolerate the dominance of Britishers but today we get dominated by many in the name of seniority or power.Corruption is the result of us being so timid not to be able to speak up.I know it is difficult but do you think it had been easy for the freedom fighters?

As India marches towards the 66th year of Independence,the people who fought tooth and nail for the freedom most of us take for granted feel this is not the nation of their dreams and are troubled by the all-pervading culture of corruption.

Here are some excerpts of interviews of a few brave freedom fighters...

Let us see are they satisfied by the country's "independent" condition today??

Captain SS Yadav, a 93-year-old freedom fighter who served in the Indian National Army (INA) of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, feels that the country has progressed a lot in the last six decades, but corruption too has increased exponentially. "Corruption has bugged our administrative system badly and I really feel ashamed when youngsters ask me if we fought for the freedom to provide them a corrupt system," Yadav said. 

"chakhaenge maza barbadi-e-gulshan ka gulchin ko
bahaar aa jaegi us dum jab apna baghban hoga"

Octogenarian Pratima Kaushik, who spent two months imprisoned along with her two brothers in Lahore, fondly remembers moments spent in jail, fervently singing patriotic songs with the hopes of a free India. She feels that India has got independence but people have failed to understand the real meaning of 'azadi'. "Independence is not as it should have been...there is widespread corruption and back-stabbing. Many times, I think I made a mistake in fighting for the nation and that it was not worth it," an angry Kaushik shot back.

"The scams just reinstate that in our country whoever gets a little power tends to misuse it. Who thought Kalmadi was capable of such blatant corruption?  Those who exploited the public money must be sent to jail," said the 88-year-old freedom fighter Shashi Bhushan. 

"Everyone fought for freedom with great enthusiasm. Today, the development we see is the fruit of that very struggle. The freedom struggle continues against communalism and corruption," says the Padma Bhushan awardee Bel Bahadur, 86, was only 18 when he enrolled in the INA's Rangoon training centre. 

Want to know how much has the mammoth of corruption eaten up the country???
Here is a List of alleged scams and scandals in India since Independence
Friends it is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you..It is high time that we realize that the great sacrifices made by our brave men should not be forgotten.There is absolutely nothing that we can't do.We are from the same greatest land of India from which great warriors like Bhagat Singh were born.We have the same fire dwelling inside of us which just needs to be instigated.That fire which makes us strong and makes us hold our country above of all.If we decide to fight against the evil of corruption do you think it will be able to engulf the nation?NO! We all have been traumatised by this evil at some point of our lives...We can do justice to the efforts and dreams of our forefathers...Lets take a pledge to at least try to serve the country in our own way...Let us pledge that at least we will  never promote corruption...India is our home...Let us all stand for it!!! Britishers ruled India for about 339 years (1608-1947)…Let us not get dominated by anyone ever again!!!

And i leave you with Bismil's poetry :

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai

Dekhna hai zor kitna baazu-e-qaatil mein hai

Waqt aanay dey bata denge tujhe aye aasman

Hum abhi se kya batayen kya hamare dil mein hai

JAI HIND!

--AKANKSHA