August 15

When I was a school going kid and when Doordarshan was the only broadcast experience for all of us, August 15th/January 26th used to be designated for telecast of the movie, Gandhi. It was almost an yearly routine.

This was coz possibly not many movies that could inspire national integration were made during those days and may be Doordarshan genuinally believed in the non violent initiatives of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and considered them as a valuable lesson that must be passed on to generations. Whatever be the case, as we grew up, we have at least had the opportunity to see a cinematic masterpiece and also a glimpse into the history of a time that we today cannot relate to or for that matter cannot even correctly recall.

Day after tomorrow its August 15 once again and I do not see any of the numerous movie channels advertising about them telecasting Gandhi. Its undisputed slot has now been taken by Maa Tujhe Salaam, Sarfarosh and many such war based flicks that do a stellar job of only inflicting hatred for the country across the border. Please dont get me wrong. Some of these movies are good and I have enjoyed watching them as much as the next person.

However, what disturbs me is not the story line of these potboilers, but the fact that what is it that we want to associate our nation's Independence Day with now? Is it all about watching movies with a high dose of exaggerated valour?

Cinema has always been a reflection of the society in which we live in and hence it is no surprise that it is only such flicks that find their way into our homes on such days of national importance. I do not blame the channels for choosing such movies as they have to worry about their TRP's and that too on a holiday when there is an opportunity of capturing maximum eye balls for the adverts.

The broadcasters are smart enough to realise that a movie such as Gandhi will not have many takers, so why spoil the extra prime time opportunity? Get the product that sells..and Gandhi is certainly not that product. Clearly a reflection of our current times.

Is it just violence and one sided fiction that is adequate for celebrating the essence of Independence Day? Is that what our next generation will remember of August 15? Or may be they will remember this day with the Big Bazaar super sale that is organised once a year or may be the August 15 weekend travel deals due to which they have always gone on long weekend breaks. None of this enjoyment and celebration is wrong or should be frowned upon. These are all fruits of our economic liberalisation and we should take full advantage of it.

But while we do this, do we spare few minutes on at least this day to understand the state of the nation today and learn about the history with which this day is linked? Do we spend few minutes with our children talking to them about the long lasting struggle that started in 1857 and culminated on this day in 1947? Sure our children feel proud to see Sunny Deol hoisting the National Flag on India's border in the movies, but I am sure they will feel more proud of their nation once they learn about the great leaders and revolutanaries of our nation that unfortunately existed only in the past.

Today as Kashmir burns and our own people who opperesed for ages when initiate an armed struggle are termed as the greatest internal threat, I wonder if it is even ethical to celebrate this day with pomp and show. Coz quite clearly there is hardly anything that has been achieved in recent times with regards to building the nation that should be celebrated on this day and we definitely are not celebrating the freedom struggle of fifty years ago.

It will never be the doing of just one day that will make August 15 an occassion to be celebrated. It will instead be the toil of many years that will be dedicated towards building the nations character that will in true sense make it a day to be celebrated. And when that happens, you will see that the nature of celebrations would have also changed. It will then not be about movies and shopping and gathering liquor stocks in advance.

It would then be about passing on the reins of that nation building proces to our offsprings and telling them proudly about our contribution towards it. I am sure they will then not need a Sunny Deol to be their national hero. Then..we the citizens of India will all be heroes. Jai Hind