Happy Independence Day: A message to those who want to leave India

First of all, Happy Independence Day to you! As you know – today is the 72^nd Independence Day, and it has been a journey of ups and downs for this country. If you recall the history of this country, you’ll understand why as an Indian, I feel immensely proud to celebrate this auspicious day. If you go back and view my previous Independence Day posts, you’ll understand that I have a little knowledge about my country but I am trying to gain more of it. So, apart from just wishing you, I thought of conveying a thought I have in my mind, right now, and to be honest, I feel very peculiar about this specific thought because I am afraid that people might feel offended. But, as a writer, little of that matters to me. All I want is to – communicate my message to everyone.

Thought:

It all started a week prior to Independence Day. After attending a public lecture on Time Management, I was returning to my home. When I entered the premises of my building, my mind was crammed with thoughts related to the subject – Time management. As I entered my wing (in which I stayed on the third floor), I saw some renovation work was in progress and way to my wing was almost blocked. The raw materials required for the renovation work blocked most of the path and remaining area was occupied by workers. I told them to move aside a bit and make space for me to reach the lift. They obeyed my instructions and made way for me. While moving toward the lift, by mistake, I placed my left foot on wet cement. It ruined the beauty of my black shoe. Irritated by this incident, I gave the workers an unsatisfactory look and moved into the lift.

Next morning, I came down and saw the renovation work was still going on. Of course, the workers weren’t there so early in the morning, but they had done their job. They had put aside all sticky raw materials at a corner so that it doesn’t cause any trouble to residents of the building. But still, I ended up ruining my white shirt by touching my arm to an iron gate that had grease on it. After that incident, I had certainly started hating the renovation work. 

For the next two days, the renovation work went on. It made our entire wing look shabby; packed with dirt and raw materials. It was getting unbearable for me to enter it without grimacing. Even though I took extra care to avoid any other mishaps, I couldn’t end up going home dirt-free. 

A day later when I came back from college and saw the renovation work was completed. All the dirt, raw material, sticky substances, and everything possible to ruin my day were not present. Happily, I went home, and when I was resting on my rocking chair peacefully, a thought came to my mind. My mind started comparing the renovation work with India. I know it seems to be stupid of me to think that way. But there’s a logical and clear similarity between India and renovation work (that was going on in my wing) and that is – development.

Like my wing was getting developed or upgraded, India is also in the developing stage. Like I was not happy when renovation work was in progress, Indians are also not happy with India just because, it is a developing country. I understand people’s unhappiness. But it is quite shocking to learn that Indians are leaving India to settle down in a developed country like USA. I know developed countries offer better employment, transportation, and accommodation facilities, and people get attracted to comfort and shift there. It is absolutely natural to get attracted, but why people forget their homeland? Why people forget their real identity shall always remain as Indian? Why people forget the sacrifices that were made in order to attain freedom? Why don’t people respect their own country?

I know. I know – there are problems in India. Plenty of problems like increase in crime and corruption, bad political climate, improper infrastructure, lack of employment opportunities, and poverty. – that overall makes our India, an intolerant country. But people forget that this phase shall pass. One day, India will become a developed country, with or without those people, who’re leaving India in this phase of difficulty. And, Indian government is trying to work on many things, at once, to upgrade the essential facilities for the citizens. But with the problems that we're facing, the change is going to take time. We must have patience. We must have faith in India. We must love India. 

That’s all I want to say. 

Try to respect India, try to love India, and try to work in India. After all, no matter how far you go, you’ll always be identified as an Indian.

Lastly, celebrate your freedom, but don’t forget to remember those who won it for you!

Thank you for reading!

Amay Saxena!