Getting up in the morning, my inbox had a minor deluge of “Happy Independence Day” mails. What’s this “Happy Independence” thing anyways?
Yes I know it means one more rerun of “Gandhi”, one more “Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon”, a tricolor logo on MTV, Anu Malik in a India-colored bandana singing, in a voice that wants me to bring back the British “We love you O India, Tumhe na chorenge”.
A few days ago, for the umpteenth time, I got this picture on a forward and I will tell you what—I actually think it’s a very honest gesture 
on the part of Laloo and Rabri to sit through the National Anthem——–because they symbolize the sorry truth which, we more so on this day, should realize—-August 15 was not a day of independence.
It was a day of a transfer of power—-from white-skinned colonial oppressors who stare at us vacantly from textbooks to brown-skinned, home-grown masters whose malignancy is an undeniable concomitant of our daily existence.
Times of India, in its trademark sanctimonious style, came out with a list of 58 things which keep us from being independent—including, ironically—yellow journalism and overt focus on celebrities.
Hah !
I will keep it simple—-we will be independent only when those who rule our country are made accountable to the rule of the law.
Here’s a question: How many politicians, in “independent ” India have served serious jail time because of their actions as politicians? (I am not talking about politicians who began their career as politicians because they were criminals—-they are a different cup altogether).
None.
If H KL Bhagat, Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler are allowed to get away with murder how are they, in any way, different from our erstwhile colonial masters?
General Dyer got away nearly scot-free despite a “trial”.
So did these fine men.
In a truly independent India, HKL Bhagat, if he would have been buried, should have been exhumed and his dead, decomposing body be given the same kind of dignity his minions gave to the old Sikh who, while pleading for his life, had rubber tires put around him and burnt alive.
In a truly independent India, Narendra Modi would be someone’s bitch in a maximum security jail cell.
Corruption and poverty exist in all countries of the world—–somewhere very in-your-face, some places between the sheets.
But only in countries which are yet to be independent is it possible for the ruling class, with impunity, to get away with killing sections of its population.
And the biggest thing is that its not that the politicians mentioned above got away on a technicality.
They got away because the system protects them. The precise system from which we want independence from.
Its the system that guarantees that fingerprints will vanish, FIRs will be filed late or never at all, police will be transferred and even video evidence will be shouted down as doctored.
With the result that the “ground will keep on shaking” and “spontaneous anger shall keep on coming out” without any hope of justice.
Ever.
The Greatbong Blog & Podcast 
What can i say, u did it again
if its not humor, its a glaring reflection of how true our country is, screw TOI
this is why i HATE my country, always brought up to respect unity in diversity and all the cultural crap.
if one thing unites our country, its the politicians of diverse castes, communities being united in crime, rather than uphold the law, they make it as they go along
i never saw 1984, godhra, babri, or the other riots like bombay. But im sorry, i dont feel like being an indian when i think of them, why wud anyone kill their own people. our leaders kill the very votes who got them the seats
i dont knw what to say, 58 years of shit, im too worked up to type,
maybe we need a Indian Rage Against the machine act to try and spread a word
a weird thought, but what part of our country aint….
Hi Arnab,
Very nice post.
We certainly have problems. The question is how to solve it. As voters we have very little choice at times – almost every other politicains seems to be the same. The only options that I think I have have is to jump into the fray myself 😀
Sorry set off on an tangent – but is there any other solution?
@almost_useless: There is nothing to hate our country about—-the paradox being that despite us being a democracy, our politicians do not “represent” us —at least I hope so.
@SD: I wish there was a solution. I really wish there was.
Harsh but true.That said, I think we Indians have still done a fine job.
On independence day the
BusinessWeek runs a front page on the progress India and China have made and the shift of economic power to the east, and there is no mention what so ever of our independence day, which might kind of makes it more credible.
I mean, I agree, there’s a lot of work to do, and that we kind of got lucky because of the keen business sense that Americans have.But nonetheless, it says a lot about how differently even commoners in the US think about India now, from the land of snake charmers to a key tech hub, key player in international markets, up and coming economy,great place to make an investment..yadda yadda yadda..
They look at us now with renewed respect, regard and a lot of envy (all the loss of jobs crap, its like a teller blaming ATM’s for taking his job away..huh!!)..Any way that’s a separate thread of discussion; but the point is, its not all wet towel, there is lot of work to be done, but we can hope that our nasty politicians and law makers might finally roll up their sleeves, since we are more of an economic presence, and therefore more of a face now, so they might be compelled to show a pretty face, if not for anything else, then for not losing face in front among the international community
!!
@Bubbled….we will no doubt get prosperity economically and this will deflect our attention from the real problem—
Politicians can murder anyone in this country.
And get away with it.
A chilling thought.
…Modi would be someone’s bitch…
greatbong, the least you can envy a perp is good gangsta a** 😉
This may be too naive, but not losing hope is a start to the solution. Not accepting the rot and demanding the best that we deserve, is the solution.
And going through the blogsphere makes sure that I don’t lose hope.
oh I used the same pic in my posting, although the topic is slightly different..
and i like your writing 🙂
Shame on Laloo and Rabri…
Indian Politicians think they’re demi gods above the rule of law… The system needs to be changed drastically and these people need to be made accountable