The time has come around again for this great country of ours to celebrate its 64th 'Republic Day'. What a feeling of pride and joy for every Indian!
We owe it to founding fathers, who more than six decades ago, declared this country of ours a sovereign, democratic republic on the 26th of January 1950. But little did they know, that years down the line, this feeling of elation and achievement would not be shared by all, especially among the states of the north east of India.
It is a daunting task to pin point the exact reason for this anti-mainland India feeling, so common among the north easterners in general. Every year, the celebrations of our Independence Day and the Republic Day is marked with bandhs or boycotts called by the numerous so called freedom fighting groups of all the seven-sister states of the north east. But the scope of this post is not to do a in-depth analysis of the pro and cons of this phenomenon, but rather to look at the whole issue from a 'common mans' perspective.
The situation is akin to being caught between 'the devil and the deep sea'. And it is further aggravated by the media, both print and electronic, flashing news bulletins and glaring headlines about the 'call' to boycott all celebrations. This does play tricks with ones psyche! So what does one do when faced with such a situation?
It has taken a few years, but the common masses have realised that it is not as bad as it is made out to be. There are no gun-toting goons lining the venues, or vigilantes at every street corner, trying to prevent people from going to the celebrations. Things have much changed over the past couple of decades. The common man has realised that, this call to boycott the celebrations of these two significant days of our country, is nothing but an face-saving effort by these outfits. It is just not possible for any outfit to flex their muscles during these two days. The security blankets thrown around the towns and venues makes it next to impossible to disrupt the celebrations! Yes, to anyone who is not from this region, the situation would seem foreboding, what with all the media reports and all. But it is a far cry from reality!
People come out in large numbers to be a part of the celebrations. The unfurling of the Tri-colour, march pasts by different groups, school children doing their stint, various cultural dances and exhibitions. The north east celebrates just as well as any other state of the Indian sub-continent.
The cloak of inhibition to celebrate the two most important days of our great country has been shed by the north easterner. Realisation has dawned on him that, he is also a vital part in the scheme of things concerning this country of ours. Gone are the days of timidness and submissiveness to the demands of the so called modern day 'freedom fighters'. Dynamics have shifted with the realisation that the only thing constant is 'change'.
Change and adapt to different situations or be left behind. And no one likes to be left behind!
Till next time!
No comments:
Post a Comment