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At the stroke of midnight, as India moved into August
15, 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime
Minister, read out the famous speech proclaiming India's
independence.
The moment ended three centuries of British colonial
rule. The land was no longer the summer retreat of
British sahibs who fancied spices, shikar, elephants and
snake-charmers.
Independence was also the end of nearly a century of
struggle for freedom, battles, betrayals and sacrifices.
It also created a situation where we were responsible
for ourselves
But it wasn't a period of unqualified joy. For a lot of
people, in spite of a new era promised by independence,
partition was a painful reality and so was the bloodshed
that accompanied it. That was 60 years ago. Much has
changed; the struggle for freedom lives on in history
books and memoirs, and on the tombstones of valiant
martyrs. Politics has undergone a personality change
from fiery idealism to a pragmatic cynicism.
Karma drives the nation on its way forward, and
population has crossed the billion mark. But, come
August 15, and the people put their troubles behind them
for a while, as they stand up as a nation for the
National Anthem. Along with the soaring cadences of the
anthem, the hopes and dreams for a better tomorrow are
renewed in political speeches and replays of the deeds
of those who earned us our freedom.
Independence Day is an occasion to rejoice in our
freedom and to pay collective homage to all those people
who sacrificed their lives to the cause. But it is more
than that. It also marks the coming together of more
than 400 princely states into one nation - India. This
was probably our biggest diplomatic success.
Each year, August 15 gives us the reason to celebrate
all this, and do much more - it is a time to contemplate
what we have and how we achieved it.
Though India had no dearth of religious and community
festivals, there was, till Independence, no true
national festival that the whole country could partake
of. Independence Day, beginning as a day to commemorate
the greatest moment in Indian history, has now come to
signify a feeling of nationalism, solidarity and
celebration.
Independence Day remained the sole national festival
till India declared itself a republic in 1950. On
January 26, 1950, Republic Day became the second Indian
national holiday.
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