17-08-2018, Mumbai, India: What then is freedom? The power to live as one wishes.

Good Morning Everyone. It’s the Friday Post on a balmy Friday Morning. India celebrated its Independence Day on the 15^th this month. On this occasion, I am not going to write about anything deep or topical. Instead, I will just write about what Independence meant to me when I was growing up. Independence Day has always been a special event, one that filled our hearts with happiness and pride. It is a day to commemorate the sacrifices of a great many people. The simple joy of being born in a free country and not living like second-class citizens in your own land is perhaps something we won’t appreciate because we haven’t had the absence of it.

I lived in a locality that is predominantly Muslim. My school was also in a locality which is largely Muslim. Hence, I think I can describe very easily how Muslim localities celebrate the Independence day of the nation they are always accused of being treacherous towards in some fine detail.

The Celebrations

Our Localities

The major squares are cleaned on the previous and floral patterns are made on the ground. Some mechanism is constructed on which a flagpole is erected. Local politicians unfurl flags in the morning. Quite often, someone would organise some small feast or a blanket distribution program for the poor in the area. Our area has a Navy factory and so there was always special celebrations around the factory, generally involving a few Navy folks.

The localities were decorated with miniature India flags hung on streamers and tied from window to window. There were many youth clubs in our locality. Each of them used to have a mini-flag hoisting ceremony of its own. Anyone familiar with the Calcutta of those days would understand the significance of youth clubs. These used to be gatherings of local youngsters and formed a key element of the “adda” culture that Calcutta is famous for. These clubs also formed the bench strength of political parties but that’s not our topic today. These clubs too generally announced some sort of sporting activity around Independence Day. The small ones generally held Carrom events. The ones with more funds even organised Cricket tournaments. The whole area would be filled with loudspeakers playing patriotic songs through the day.

Our Schools

Schools are readied for the flag-hoisting ceremony. Even though the day is officially a holiday, most children turn up for the sheer excitement of it. It’s a site to see small kids all lining up on a holiday and singing the national anthem as the principal unfurls the flag and emphasises the value of patriotism. There would be cultural functions in our school on that day with both teachers and students performing. We gathered in our school grounds once the festivities are over to play cricket or football.

There used to be special competitions held in our school around this day. Our school was a Missionary one. Calcutta (now Kolkata) has a very strong ICSE board and Missionary school culture. Hence, there was adequate focus on the extracurricular development of students. Hence, there used to literary, painting, and elocution events for various age groups around the event. The students, especially the young ones, used to be very active in such events.

For people wondering, Muslim localities are not filled with madrasas. Even when there are a few, the Independence day is held as a revered event. These places are almost always cash-strapped with their backs against the wall. Hence, the pomp and gaiety we associate with celebrations are almost always missing.

Our Homes

Our home used to be like any other Indian home on this day – we woke up and watched the Independence Day broadcast. Even though I didn’t understand anything, I looked forward to the Prime Minister’s speech. There would definitely a few good patriotic movies thrown in along with other special Independence Day broadcasts. Sometimes I strongly wish for the good old days of television to come back. Our home also used to be like any other Muslim home on this day, which meant biryani. Now that I reflect, I can’t confirm if it was special to the Independence Day; we need an excuse to eat biryani any day.

The Independence Day Catharsis

Independence Day has and always will be a moment of pride for Indian Muslims. Their ancestors laid down their lives for this. They deserve to feel proud of it as much as people from any other community. What Muslims don’t deserve to have their patriotism questioned by people just for their religion. We want to be equal contributors to the development of our nation. Our forefathers have given us the option to shape our destiny; it’s a luxury they didn’t have. It’s time we rose up and upheld our tryst.

There is no gist to this post. I haven’t tried to talk about anything particular or tried to raise an issue. It’s another cathartic post where I talked of something dear to me. It’s just that Independence Day has always meant a lot to me. It’s just that I felt I should write something about it. So, I did. I will perhaps write something more academic next week. Till then, live long and prosper.

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This post has also been published here.