74 years ago on the 15th of August 1947, India woke up to freedom and a spirit of immense jubilation! What a heart-thumping auspicious and long-awaited moment it must have been for millions of Indians. To feel the pulse of FREEDOM must have been indeed exhilarating!!
It had been a long-drawn struggle – a torturous ordeal, unbelievable pain and misery, untold sacrifices, blood, tears and sweat shed, with just HOPE and ASPIRATIONS that kept them going. And so, when it was achieved, it was a big moment, a big day and so, even to this day we celebrate the 15th of August as our golden and glorious day when we became a free sovereign nation.
Every year the ramparts of the Red Fort is lit bright as the Prime Minister of the country hoists the national flag, addresses the swelling crowd – from far and near, all thronged at this place. On this day, year after year, we have remained glued to our radios or TV sets or internet media keen to watch and listen to the leader giving the Independence Day speech. Listening to the heart-warming reports of progress and accomplishments made by our independent nation, information of many ambitious futuristic plans all set to take the growth and development of the nation to higher planes, make our chests swell up with pride and happiness.
Now so many decades down the line we have innumerable reasons to stand tall and proud. We see achievements in almost every sphere be it in the spheres of space and missile, technology, medical and research, education, agriculture etc. We are ever-growing, higher and stronger. The missiles such as Agni, Prithvi strengthened our nation’s security and carved a niche in the elite group of the world’s powerful countries. We are globally, scientifically, technologically, spiritually an emerging strong power.
Our arts and craft, our rich heritage, our media, films, fashion, textile, our resilient and ‘Never Say Die’ spirit, united despite the diverse beliefs and convictions we have, make us amazing Indians! We are blessed with a wide variety of resources by virtue of our country being spread far and wide, with an immense stretch of land East to West, North to South. With a wide variety of festivities, endless celebrations of different communities, castes and creeds, the reasons to be proud of our motherland is endless.
As great and commendable the stories of our onward progress, so also are the richness of our 5000-year-old civilization, the myriad cultures, traditions, languages, spices, cuisines and many more. The great discoveries and inventions our ancestors made and contributed to the world are indeed special and unique from the concept of the Zero to Ayurveda to Yoga, to the latest contribution made by our scientists – vaccine for Covid-19. Our scientists emerged successful in developing the vaccine working round the clock in the laboratory, accelerating the whole process, working in tandem with utmost sincerity and dedication. We have endless reasons to hold our heads high. On this 75th Indian Independence Celebration, as free citizens of a free country, we pay sincere tribute unitedly to those who sacrificed themselves so that we breathe free and get such endless opportunities to unleash the boundless talents we have in us.
We are filled with gratitude that our great leaders liberated our motherland and made our country a wonderful place to live in. And our conversation, speech or any article related to Indian independence cannot be complete without the mention of our beloved Bapu, Mahatma Gandhi, the man behind our struggle for freedom. His beautiful principle of Ahimsa – Non-Violence, holds true to this day. The supreme sacrifice made by our martyrs such Subhash Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar, Shivaram Rajguru, Lala Lajpat Rai and many more can never be forgotten. We are also reminded of the relentless struggle of our great patriots who contributed significantly to liberate our motherland from colonial rule such as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru, Tantia Tope, Bipin Chandra Pal, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Rani Lakshmi Bai, Begum Hazrat Mahal to name just a few.
Today our youths are marching ahead bold and strong scripting newer success stories, scaling newer heights. This Tokyo Olympics 2020 saw our young trailblazers such as Mirabai Chanu, Lovlina Borgohain, PV Sindhu, the feisty Ravi Kumar Dahiya and the ever charging ahead Men’s Hockey Team adding bright new feathers to our cap by winning proud medals for the country.
Today our country has earned a place of respect in the global world. We must keep a pledge always alive in our hearts to do the best that we can in our own little ways to see the pride and spirit of our country fluttering always high and mighty.
Jai Hind!