Independence Day for many has no importance other than a holiday to be spent at home, either with friends or family; or shopping. I believe that many would fall in the later category as malls are decked up with the National colours of saffron, green and white with special sales at discounted rates varying from 20 per cent to 50 per cent. I beg my pardon to the moral brigades who think that it is blasphemy to be so truthful. However, didn’t Mahatma Gandhi say that truth has the power to shake the foundation of human nature and end all maladies rampant in society? I am sure most don’t even remember what truth actually means.

I believe that Indians should forget counting the number of years that India has been independent for and think more about how far has India developed during these years in fields of science, economics, society, politics, judiciary and the armed forces. It is time to forget petty differences and bothering about what our neighbour countries think about us and think about India and what we the people of India can do to help the country grow into a better state.

It is not only the duty of the armed forces to secure India from external attackers, it is also our duty to ensure that we do not provide a weak link for the attackers to create terror in our society. Confused? I am sure and you may be asking what I mean. History has provided enough evidence that from the Mongols, Alexander, the Mughals, and later the Britishers fed on the fact that Indians fought among themselves to gain importance both economically and politically.

The kingdoms are long gone and in their stead are the states of today. Each state has it own problems and when any state proclaims that people of no other state can stay in that state then it is a major problem and issue. If people of India start claiming their antecedents and hurting social and moral sentiments then it leads to public angst that may lead to arson, looting and even terrorism.

A person who goes against the system and uses force to dominate is a terrorist. India has enough insurgency to take care of within its borders and it would turn worse with independent factions staking out pieces of land and claiming then as their own and later demanding independent statehood. Democracy could not be more misunderstood nor, can our fundamental rights become a misnomer.