The Prime Minister reaches the Red Fort at 7:20am; he inspects the Inter-Services and Police Guard of Honour; he reaches the ramparts and addresses the nation for 40 minutes or may be more depending on the skies, says 'Jai Hind' with the crowd of school children and goes home. The media is in full attendance and they faithfully inform the countrymen of policy statements, if any. We all head home and look for a cup of hot tea brewed by the lady of the house. For most of us from the days of the British Raj, Independence means much more. It sends us down memory lane and brings a sense of nostalgia.

How can I not remember the Quit India movement of 1942 when as a young boy not yet in my teens, I came out of my classroom encouraged by the bigger boys and headed for kutchery to shout slogans such as “Quit India” against the British Collector and others of his tribe. The mercenary police beat us with batons but undeterred we kept on saying “VANDE MATARAM VANDE MATARAM”. The big boys bled as they were badly beaten but they held the tricolour high. IT WAS A SIGHT TO SEE AND ADMIRE. At the kutchery, senior students were arrested and sent to jail; the juniors were admonished and told to go home and have some mother’s milk. I had the inner satisfaction that I too had told the foreign masters to quit our country. That they did five years later. back then, all Indians celebrated Independence with great gusto. Of course, the partition of Bharat Mata had left an emotional scar and a deep wound which would be difficult to forget. Then as now, the main celebration was held at the ramparts of the Red Fort in Delhi. Sad to say, the enthusiasm of yesteryears has faded over a period of time.

It is unbelievable but true that no tricolour was hoisted by Pt Jawaharlal Nehru at the ramparts of the Red Fort on August 15 1947. A day later, Nehru went up the ramparts and hoisted the new National flag and fulfilled the wishes of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. Indeed every Independence Day has seen the incumbent Prime Minister do this national duty with great aplomb. It would be interesting to recall the various Prime Ministers who hoisted the national flag. Pt Jawaharlal Nehru leads the league with a tally of 17. His daughter Smt Indira Gandhi is close behind with a total tally of 16 in two parts: 11 times in the first innings; and five times in the second innings. In between was Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri who unfurled the flag twice. An elevator was installed for him as he was forbidden from ascending the stairs on medical grounds. Now there are two to accommodate the growing number of sick but important people. Care has been taken to see that the walls of the elevator match the architecture of the fort so that it blends in. Now every Prime Minister uses the elevator to go up but some come down the ramparts using staircase.

Maybe you would like to know the names of Prime Minister who did not have an opportunity to perform this sacred national duty even once. It was Shri Chandra Shekhar. Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee had the honor six times and he is bracketed with the likes of Dr Manmohan Singh. Rajiv Gandhi and Narasimha Rao did so five times each, Morarji Bhai twice but he is in good company with Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri. Among those who just opened an account before returning to the pavilion are: Chaudhary Charan Singh, Sarvashri Vishwanath Pratap Singh, HD Devegowda and Inder Kumar Gujaral. Indeed the list makes for interesting reading and speaks volumes about party politics in Parliament. The bottom line of each Independence Day speech was a promise to the common man to ameliorate his living conditions even though evidence shows that in many cases, not much was done in that regard. Some promise-makers were dethroned as they descended the stairs; never to ascend again.

As a commentator I feel that the Prime Minister should not take too long to say what he does not mean. Some do not have the magic numbers to back their words, someone may not muster support within the party as other stalwarts treat him as an usurper of the throne that did not rightfully belong to him. A long speech does not go well with the audience who sit in the sweltering heat of August in Delhi or in the torrential rain depending on the whims of the weather. Global warming is mentioned in the passing but it cannot be fanned away with a copy of the Independence Day programme printed on thin paper.

A Prime Minister who has the blessings of the most powerful lady East of the Suez will just recount the names of Nehru, Gandhi (forget the Mahatma) and think that he has earned his daily bread. Thus the gap between preaching, precept and practice widens everyday. Perhaps a peaceful revolution is required to deliver the goods. The right to resent and protest against a government diktat is enshrined in the constitution and the judiciary protects it just as it is so keen to protect the assets of judges.

Lip service is paid to victims of Islamic terrorism. The new economic terror factor is not even touched lest the vote bank is lost. Just preserve your place in power and worry not about the nation or the common man. Let them fend for themselves. It does not matter if lentils is sold at Rs100 per kilo; just announce from the roof tops that there are enough food stocks in government go-downs. Just exhort State governments to use all laws against hoarding yet allow the food ministry to be the biggest hoarder. Let the finance people say that inflation is now zero or in negative territory, don’t worry if the prices of common vegetables and fruits render them beyond the reach of common man. Indeed paying lip service to the common man pays rich dividends. So why bother about implementation of plans to ameliorate his condition. Let the plans remain on paper and save your Chair.