Sunday Reflections – Kunal Roy

Midnight. The moon was still there in the sky. India achieved her independence. 14th August, 1947. The day will forever be etched in the minds of the noble Indians.
But there has always been a question if the East India Company or our native rulers were responsible for the decline of the nation’s freedom. To be very honest, the East India Company was shown the way to India by Vasco da Gama. But the sole motive was commercial and not a single thought of spreading the hemlock of imperialism through the branches and twigs of the nation took its root in them. However, the internal rivalry and a pure sense of envy worked profoundly in the minds of Jagat Seth, Umi chanda, Mirjafor and Gheseti Begum to make Siraj step down. Siraj was a debauch and his gruff approach towards the most influential person of Bengal Jagat Seth in the open court invited his doom! The conspiracy was hatched by Lord Clive and the evergreen rivals of Siraj. The battle of Plassey was fought, ensured the tragic vanquish of Siraj who eventually had a terrible death in the hands of Mohammodi Bheg. The sun of the Queen’s race rose in the eastern part of the sky. The British rule was spread far and wide and continued for nearly two hundred years amid toil, sweat, murder, capital punishment, life term imprisonment and many more. And after lots and lots of sacrifice at the altar of our motherland, the freedom was obtained and not snatched! A treaty was signed in the presence of the Queen of England and the ‘would be leaders’ in the post independent India. The first phase of journey was completed amid the political upheaval!
Jawaharlal Nehru became the first Prime Minister. But the Indians could not rise above their orthodox nature. Political strife became more intense. The colours of riot were only red and dark crimson. Amid two dominions were born. People left their home land to envisage a further gruesome reality. The blood bath continued ceaselessly. Losing lives , property and kith and kin became the order of the day! Such an independence was no more than a hallucination. The joy of freedom was clouded by the greed and gluttony of the influential class! Gradually everything was settled. The tears were removed from the eyes, but not the scars. The mind was elated in ecstasy but the pangs of separation sustained its sense of flawless eternity! Even at this very hour, when the nation has managed to reach a reasonable status to enable people eke out a living for them, hunger and penury still rule the roost. A freedom without assuring a complete security of different dimensions. ‘The policy of rule and divide’ is still in vogue, no matter what Kaji Nazrul Islam had once said ‘ akey brinte duti phul, hindu, musalman’!

The dark days are not yet over. A sense of perfect equilibrium is yet to be restored. A hearty reverence for the human race is the call of the hour. Freedom should not be a mere transference of power from one to another. It ought to be an emancipation from all the weaknesses of this existence to ensure a complete development of the homo sapiens!

This year we celebrate the 74th Independence Day of our nation. Hedonism across the borders of the country is simply unbridled! Still the question which peeps even through the cracked walls of a dilapidated building, tucked away at the farthest corner of the town is, “are we truly dependent?” The day when the answer to this question can be given beyond all shackles of controversy, the midday sun will descend on the earth to sing the song of praise for us. Any view?