Why I'm Not Going to do an Independence Day Special

Before you reach any conclusions about me being a sceptic or some kind of a "non-patriot", let me begin by saying that my reasons for not doing an Independence Day Special, do not fall into any such category(you see, I have this habit of clarifying things so as to avoid any kind of misunderstandings later on). But then, that doesn't mean that I'm not going to wish you a Happy Independence Day.

To start with it, I don't believe in living my life by clichés. I mean, isn't it something very obvious to do - write something grand and opulent about our great heritage, vibrant cultures, our unity-in-diversity, our booming economy, our world-power-in-the-making status; or about how we should try and break our way-too-many shackles of  social-economic injustice, social taboos, regressive thinking, poor habits; or may be about how we as a nation are letting a gang of "politicians" take us for a ride and plunder our collective wealth, abuse our collective being and laugh at us while doing it all in broad daylight with absolute impunity. I guess, all this has been written about several times in the past, still continues to be written about at this precise moment and in fact, will also get written about in the ages to come. There's nothing new, path-breaking or revolutionary about it(now this doesn't mean that I mean to bring about some kind of a revolution out here!).

Instead, I try to steer away myself from what is touted as the "tried-and-tested" ways of life. I believe in living by my own rules and principles, one of them being "Be Different and Make a Difference". This was the whole-and-sole reason why I decided not to post something about our Independence Day, but instead, to emphasis the need to discover your own person and uphold your own personal freedom and INDEPENDENCE every day while you are alive. The question is, that should one really do something only because the custom or the occasion demands it, or should something be done only because there lies deep within you, a strong willingness to do it.

I think you should try and take some time out on this Independence Day to think about what Independence really means to you. Is it all about singing patriotic songs, unfurling the Tricolour, listening to zealous speeches, making customary noises about how we need to pay more attention towards the pressing issues which our country faces and then forgetting about it all the very next day or instead, is it about discovering your personal self, being able to think independently about what YOU really want, and celebrating an Independence Day everyday. I ask this question because it is only an Independent MIND which can lead an individual and a society to a truly Independent Existence.

Do think about it!

Freedom