Patriotism is a pious sentiment that
holds the structure of a nation and grounded on the sacrifice of valiant
leaders. India is a land of martyrs where every drip of the freedom fighters’
blood has battled for the nation. Our country has been disposed to foreign
powers for centuries and on every occasion, there have been true patriots who
struggled selflessly to regain our motherland. Starting with the Rajput leaders
Rana Sanga and Maharana Pratap of Mewar, Marathi and Punjabi patriots Shivaji
and Guru Gobind Singh where the latter sacrificed all his four sons at the
altar of the nation, the Sikh military commander Banda Bairagi to the battle
against British regime, India has seen innumerable exemplary patriots and martyrs.
The martyrdom of Baba Tilka Manjhi, the first Adivasi leader who took arms
against the British in Bihar in 1747 created vibes in Karnataka where Rani
Chennamma, Queen of Kittur and her comrades sacrificed their lives for the
cause of the nation in 1829. The movement spread to Maharashtra and later to
the North when the whole nation followed Nana Sahab, Mangal Pandey, Tantya Tope
and Rani Lakshmibai in the first war of independence in 1857. India witnessed a
torrent of patriotism based on violence until 1931 when Bhagat Singh, Shivram Rajguru
and Sukhdev Thapar were hanged in Lahore Jail. Then came an era of intellectual
patriots such as Mahatma Gandhi, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Sardar Vallabhbhai
Patel, etc. leading the non-violence movement. Either by violence or
non-violence methods, the patriots had only one goal - to have a free and peaceful
motherland. It is because of their self-sacrificing struggle and devotion that
India is still intact despite her diverse culture and heritage.
Sixty years have passed since we
attained independence from the British and time has eroded our patriotic
sentiments already. Many of us do not care about the freedom that we now enjoy
and often take it for granted. Patriotism has confined to a formality – a
gesture of saluting the national flag or a freeze stature of 52 seconds during
the national anthem or maybe even with a cold heart with no gratitude to our
brave leaders because of whom we live with dignity and freedom. Moral values
such as honesty, integrity, bravery, nationalism, respect for each other,
social responsibility, etc. has been surpassed by crime, corruption, terrorism,
violence, religious intolerance, inequality, etc. Today, we lack true
nationalists such as Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose, Lala Lajpat Rai,
Bhagat Singh, Jawaharlal Nehru, etc. who once poured the fervour of patriotism among
the teeming millions. We hardly see such inspiring personalities now and find
any role models in our present leaders, regrettably. The country witnesses a
new scandal every other day tarnishing our national character and looting the
public money. The spirit of patriotism and respect for our freedom fighters is
totally lost in the country.
Patriotism should not be limited to a
feeling at the event of a cricket match or a terrorist attack. The thoughts of
national pride and ‘desh bhakthi’ should be in our blood and mind always. We
should revive patriotism when we cast our vote in the elections, when an
underprivileged asks for a rupee, when we see garbage being thrown on the road,
and at all social evils that deters the harmony of our countrymen. Inculcating
patriotism in new generation is essential and should begin from schools. It is
in these educational institutions where the young come together crossing the borders
of religion, caste and culture. Children from a very young age should be taught
to respect our National leaders, National Anthem, National Pledge, National
Flag and the Constitution. They should be educated and set to appreciate our
history, art, culture, and heritage. Parents should make sure that their kids
do not miss a flag hoisting session on national days and explain to them the
importance of the day. Kids should be steered to have a sense of belonging and
contribution and respect other religions and their beliefs. They should be
directed to watch national ceremonies telecasted on television that happen at
the Indian capital. It is these little things that would make a difference in
the long run in producing responsible and devoted citizens of the country.
“Bharat Mata”, painting by
P. S. Ramachandran Rao, 1937
The picture of Bharat Mata, a symbol
of national integrity, portrays our eminent past and beholds a sense of
belonging to our glorious tradition. The personification of India as Bharat
Mata was first conceived by Abanindranath Tagore in 1905. The robe of Bharat
Mata represents the contours of India. The colours of her saree – saffron,
white and green – signifies the colours of Indian National Flag. She cradles
the national heroes of freedom struggle and shelters the fighters who led the
people to independence. The heroes include Balgangadhar Tilak, Justice Ranade,
A. O. Hume, etc. and the leaders of the masses include Mahatma Gandhi,
Jawaharlal Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore, Sarojini Naidu, Chandrasekhar Azad, and
others. One of the first and largest Bharat Mata temple was established in 1936
in Varanasi where a large map of ‘Akhanda Bharat’ is idolised.
The backbone of India is her people;
to serve the country means to care for each other. The strength of India lies
in the ability to unite the varied masses to a common strong force. Patriotism is
not a passive love for the country but lies in the active work for the progress
of the country. Together with moving forward to improve the standard of living
of our personal lives, let us also think about the society we live in and address
social problems. Let ‘sharing’ be our strategy and let it bring us together
irrespective of our different religions, caste, culture, languages, and regions.
Let our dream be to see an India with responsible citizens with good leadership
and nationalist passion. Let us revive the spirit of patriotism in us, love our
country, rally behind the tricolour, respect her people and build a better
India; it would be the biggest honour we could gift our freedom fighters.
Jai Hind.
