My Country & Me.......

                    Things received easily in life are not considered to be valuable by us. They may be objects from your day-to-day life or the freedom of our nation. On looking at the events happening around us today, we can come to the conclusion that we have forgotten to value our hard-earned freedom, the way we should. If we lose an object acquired easily, without much efforts, we do not value it much; & do not bother much about its loss. But, we care for & value hard-earned objects; regret their loss; & try to recover them. A simple example is food. If it is scarce, we value it most.

                         I think, as we have not had to strive hard, sweat, make sacrifices or shed blood for our country's freedom, we do not value it; do not care for it. We have got freedom ready on a platter, easily. In fact, we have never had any experience of being deprived of our freedom. As we are sure not to lose our freedom anymore, we tend to become ignorant & careless towards it. Such is our attitude towards our nation & our freedom. Frankly, though we are living in freedom today, we tend to enjoy a sort of irresponsible liberty in freedom. Our love for our nation &  our sense of patriotism comes to the surface only on a few occasions, such as at international sports events;  particularly if a specific country is the opponent; while watching nationalistic movies, or especially on the Republic or Independence Day, that too for flaunting our 'selfie' alongside the Tri-Colour.

                        In the land of saints & sages who propounded the principle of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam - World is a Family', every one of us has started thinking of only of oneself first, then of one's own family, then may be religion, caste, etc. The nation comes last in this list. We have developed a mentality of hardly thinking beyond these limitations. The thought of the nation peeps up in our minds only on a few occasions. What would have happened if our great patriotic, selfless freedom fighters had thought in this selfish vein? Perhaps, we would have been living in slavery today! But, our great ancestors did not think so. They sacrificed their homes & families to keep the fire of true nationalism burning. Many of them were even aware that they would not live to see the freedom of their Motherland; yet they strove to gift it to their next generations. One such glorious sacrifice was that of Shaheed Bhagat Singh. Such great patriots will certainly inspire us to bring about a change in our mentality. It is difficult to compare Bhagat Singh who embraced martyrdom at the age of 23, with today's youth, many of whom are engulfed in frustration & depression today. Several of them do have zest & enthusiasm; but they need to be guided, channelized & led properly. Some young men & women put an end to own life easily & recklessly. Today's youth need to live more responsibly. I am not saying that the entire picture is hopelessly grim & disappointing. But some youth do add to worries.

                         We should cherish more conscious respect towards our freedom. It should go beyond what we feel & do on the two National Days. Despite the fact that nothing can be imposed on anybody by anyone, it is a regrettable reality that 'whether one should stand when the National Anthem is being played, or not', can become a contentious issue in our country. It is unfortunate that people quibble over the caste, creed & religions of freedom fighters. It is detestable politics that debates over the contribution of people belonging to different communities, in the freedom struggle. Freedom fighters fought & made sacrifices unitedly for freedom, without even a thought of own caste, creed, or religion. Freedom was their sole goal. Instead of erecting their statues, & celebrating their centenaries; if we follow their ideals, we would not think of quibbling over their trivial details. Their ideals will inspire us to better ourselves. 

                          These great freedom fighters were, in fact, ordinary people. But, their vision, goal, ambition, principles, fundamental concepts were very noble. When I read & think about these great souls, their thoughts, deeds, and sacrifices, I feel slightly ashamed & frustrated. I poignantly feel that I must do something for my country. When I think of myself as a common citizen of India, I begin to think about what I can do for my country in my humble capacity. Even this much awareness is also quite enough. One need not go to the border to fight the enemy, or work in government administration, or politics to serve the nation. We all, young  & old alike, can do several smaller deeds for the nation, without giving too much of our time, money or efforts. Obeying all rules, regulations & laws is one such simple thing. None of our behaviour should cause any kind of trouble, inconvenience or discomfort to others. We should all the time consciously aware of our rights, as well as our responsibilities, & do our best to fulfill them. Instead of criticising or blaming the government, we should try to do what is in our capacity, & give our contribution for the welfare of society. A simple example is that of cleanliness. Despite the fact that government arrangements for public cleanliness are set in, we should help them by every time putting garbage in the dustbin only, & not anywhere in public places. If each one of us firmly decides to our surroundings as clean as clean as we keep our homes, it won't be long that our village, town, district, state & the whole nation be clean. This will be our service to our nation. Let any good thing, any good deed start with oneself. Then gradually, others will be influenced & change themselves. Include them in your journey of serving the nation. I can lift my squirrel's share by travelling by public transport instead of private transport. This will reduce air & sound pollution a little bit. I will walk shorter disdances on foot, instead of using any vehicle so as to reduce pollution, save fuel & also keeping myself fit. Any sort of saving - of fuel, money, water & food - will ultimately benefit the nation. Such moves will certainly ease the stress, may be to a little  extent, caused to the national economy by imports of crude oil. One of our fundamental rights is that of voting, which all of must exercise. Similarly, we should not ignore our constitutional responsibilities of abiding by laws, paying taxes, etc. While protesting or opposing anything, we should always follow constitutional, lawful methods; & never resort to violence, destruction or any unlawful act which might cause harm to the social fabric.

                         A small act or attempt of yours can lead to a constructive movement, & inspire others. As the Independence  Struggle witnessed participation & congratulation of millions of common people; similarly , each one of us can do our little bit for improvement & betterment of our country. We do not have to lay down lives for it. All well need to do is just changing our habits & thoughts. You may be working in any field, in whatever capacity; you can give a thought to what you can do for your country; & act upon it. It will certainly help in the upliftment of the nation. Thus, the present young generation can put an ideal example before the next one to follow & to be truly inspired.

                                                                                      

 Thank you,
Sunit Kulkarni 
+91 9422292820
(sunitkulkarni@hotmail.com)

Transcriptions in English by- Mr.Rajeev Kulkarni