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Republic Day… So What?

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Any working class Indian would cry foul if national festivals like ‘Republic day’ falls on a weekend. Because, we need such holidays to skip work on a weekday and pamper ourselves with sleep till noon or go out with loved ones for a movie or even a day trip etc., If we all dig our memories back to schooldays, do we ever care NOW to think and remember all those famous people who made our country for what it is today? Forget all that, do we have time to participate in any local event where our tri-colored flag is hoisted? How about a thought of standing and respecting our national anthem for at least once in a year?

After all we love to laze our soul and body on such national holidays because we are all common people. But the question – is this a right trend? Where are we heading to? With growing age, we have become absolute redundant folks who cannot be compared even with kids! Glad there are many educational institutions who celebrate all national holidays with pride and share the importance of occasion among the young minds. There are exceptions there too… I was shocked to hear from a couple of neighborhood kids that their school has given them holiday as the school doesn’t have a play ground nor sufficient area to erect a flag pole to celebrate such national festivals. In our great country, even education is a BUSINESS! After all this, should I talk about the souls that run MNCs? Whose job is it any way to celebrate?

Now let me share the story of a different kind of life where that piece of cloth having three colors mean everything! Yes, I am talking about the brave soldiers who are working day and night without any such holiday privileges like what we have. One of my distant cousin who is currently posted at Ladakh was here at my home yesterday, needless to say he is with Indian Army. He had some amazing photos to share and this post is an outcome of those pics. These photos were clicked during the independence day celebrations on August 15th at an altitude of 18,500+ feets! All this is a part of their life despite the subzero temperature conditions over there.


I have a huge number of photos to share which have been sourced from him. I will publish them soon under a new post since each pic needs a special mention. With this motivation, all I want to convey is – Let us celebrate all national festivals with a genuine interest. Let us try to be a part of celebrations at any level starting from your offices, local clubs, schools etc., if nothing works out form an association with like minded people and celebrate the event with great interest. Let us spread the word of importance about each occasion. And finally take a pledge to ‘Be The Reason’.

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  1. Well I am an Indian and proud to belong to a country like India having born there and studied there. No doubt India is a wonderful country but I would not call its politics the same. The constitution has become a game of politics and the common man suffers of the dirty politicians.

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  2. The pictures shake us from the prevalent cynicism…I just hope that the governance deficit gets attention lest the India story dies a slow death.

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      • Well in that case, no Indian can forget that these patriotic celebrations had a bad history.

        The time when Britishers ruled India for a long long long time.. They left only after the global power shifted and also the wealth in India depleted tremendously..

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  4. Hi Mohan,
    Excellent post and awesome pictures. Waiting to see the other pictures.

    To add to your post, I would like to share my experience when I was in US during 2009. The kind of respect they give to their culture, religion,National festivals and National flag is remarkable. The first thing that you notice in any house, business buildings, offices, and even small motel shop is their National flag! And every American is proud to be an American!

    I might be too harsh here to say, that we copied everything from them right from following their shopping habits to food to fashion and all the other things which are absolutely not required! But, we forget to follow their National commitments,work habits and respect they give to their National Festivals and National Flag!

    People feel shy to say “Happy Republic Day” or “Happy Independence Day.” Why is this happening? Does anyone fee shy to say “Happy Valentines Day” or “Happy Fathers Day” and so on?

    How many of us does really have our Indian Flag kept on their working table in front of them or how many office buildings really keep Indian Flags? Let’s start thinking!

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    • Hi Ganesh, glad you liked the post and the images attached. I can’t agree more on what you have said. Absolutely that thinking of feeling proud and exhibiting does need a strong push.

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  5. That is a wonderful post and pictures worth sharing. Taking pride in what we are is important. And this way the message gets propagated to generations further.

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  6. This article gave more lump in the throat than any other thing has done in years. And the fact that so many people have actually agreed with you, just means that the strong love we all have for our Motherland is not entirely dead….just crushed deep under the layers of hectic schedules, deadlines, financial burdens, family pressures etc. Nevertheless it is there, deep, strong & very committal. I believe that every Indian citizen will rise & show love for his country if the occasion so demands. All it needs is some rekindling- which you have done through this article. Kudos to the true Indian spirit & pride, which we all will possess till we live. Jai hind!!

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    • Hi Swati, thanks for putting forward your thoughts. Yes, the life has become more mechanical for sure in recent times but that doesn’t mean we should shy away from celebrating national festivals. We got to be the torch bearers at the end of the day to pass on the message to next generation.

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  7. Mohanji, I like this post of yours. When you ask the right question, you do make people sit up and think, so kudos to you for that!

    Even I was thinking about it… so i feel the least u can do is to get out of your peaceful long sleep in the morning and see the whole ceremony on TV and let our children know about it. I think the least we can do as the citizens of this country.

    regards

    RESTLESS

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  8. I would like to remind a beautiful song written by Poet Pradeep and rendered by Lata Mangeskar-
    ‘Aiy mere watan ke logo, jara ankh mein bhar lo paani
    jo shaheed huye hain unki, jara yaad karo kurbani’.

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  11. This article made me speechless! I am in tears. Really! Why our soldeirs are hoisting flag at altitude of 18500+feet and why we are resting the whole day? Are we alive?This sentence touched me most – we have become absolute redundant folks who cannot be compared even with kids!… feeling ashamed of myself!

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    • Hoisting a flag on our terraces wouldn’t take 30 minutes! I am sure we can do something about this as individuals too on such special occasions 🙂

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  13. Hi,

    Great post with some fantastic pics. In a world where people’s life revolve faster than the world itself, most of us have forgotten the importance of Republic day. Great post, again.

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    • Thanks Joshi! You should see the other post with pics from Leh and Ladakh… I am sure you will appreciate them more 🙂 Welcome to my blog.

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  14. @Mohan. I shall praise you for writing such a nice article. You are right in saying that we have actually started losing faith in what we fought for more that 100 years. FREEDOM. But the credit of this also goes to great leaders those who have deteriorate the system to an extent that we sometimes feel that why are we suffering because of their personal interests but i think the time is changing for good. Lets decide that we will vote for somebody who will uplift us.Secondly, Indian Army since Independence has kept our nation united the brave soldiers have given up their lives for us to sleep comfortably back home so we should make it a point that we will continue to extend our support to them as it affects their morale and moreover he ( Soldier ) does not require anything else , he just require a mere respect and gratitude.

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  15. Thanks for sharing this with us. Our country has been moving forward in so many ways, but we sometimes tend to forget the past, or roots and the present when it is outside our line of sight. The thought of our Army should be enough to feel proud even if one forgets the greats who won us our freedom.
    It is indeed a shame how it is no longer more than just a holiday.

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  18. Well… You must have seen my comments on the issue that you’ve nicely portrayed here in this post, at many of our blogger friends’ posts on ‘Republc Day’, dear Mr. Mohan!

    Hence, I would suffice, here, by saying that it’s not just about the ‘celebration’ on these momentous days of national historic significance, but the very fervor of ‘being an Indian’ that’s required to be instilled into the psyche of the new generations in the country.

    And for that to happen, the very structure of the rudimentary education in the country needs to be revamped and that can be done only when the character of our leaders gets the much-needed metamorphosis for the better.

    Thanks for sharing! Cheers to you! 🙂

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  19. Hey mohan after reading your post a thought came into my brain and i thought i have to do a post on it. I posted something which i felt about the republic day on my blog and thanks for sharing an awesome post with cool pictures.

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  24. Hey nice post…just today I heard a quote on peace by a famous personality (forgot his name). he says….
    ” The world is at peace when the patriotism is removed from each and every human being on this earth”. In a way, he is right…In a way he is not..Whats ur take on this???

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    • Good question and a nice summation of thoughts on your blog. Well, to answer that question, I think it is a must for any person to feel proud about something he belongs to as well as to build a competitive ecosystem. If there is no competition, we will be on a stand still. That is one thing that makes humans far superior when compared to other creatures. So, It is good to have the patriotism feel. A feel towards better mankind.

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  26. Mohan…first let me wish you a very happy new year and a very happy republic day.I was on a month long vacation,looks like i missed a lot here.

    You are right we treat the days of such importance just very casually,i see people not standing up if our National Anthem is being played.But a good thing happened this morning,i received many Happy Republic Day Calls from my friends-otherwise it used to be only me wishing them.I welcome this change.

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    • Hey kavita, thanks for the wishes and I too wish you a happy republic day. Wow.. that a welcome change for sure. Nice to hear such things. Hope we get to celebrate all national festivals in the same spirits.

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  27. Mohan, it is our day and whatever it is we must cherish the moment that makes us enjoy the freedom that we take for granted. Very few people in the world can have that freedom where we can tear a government apart If we feel and it is right to do so.

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  28. “Take a pledge to be the reason”… that was so well said….”celebrating national festivals” to me mean being proud of being an Indian… while its extremely important to feel that way… we should feel that way every single day of our lives. Why just on republic day or independence day…
    happy republic day guys!

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    • Good point. Yes, but the fact is many of us have come to a stage where holidays to observe national festivals has become a must! So that, atleast on those days people get to feel the importance. Thanks for the wishes and wish you too a very happy republic day.

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  29. Very Nice post!!! I am feeling ashamed falling into that group of people who think of republic day as a holiday and happy that it came on weekday. How much I have changed, am remembering my childhood days and the fun we used to have on republic days, painting our national flag and then putting on our terrace!

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    • Thanks Neilina… not many can be as brave as you are! accepting the reality and admitting is a great virtue. Glad you felt the need for celebrating such occasions.

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  30. Nice post Mohan. The men and women in uniform deserve more respect and appreciation. Needless to say it is a thankless job. We only talk about them when things go wrong.

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  31. So true… you have written some kind of unaccepted truth here… I believe this mentality of ours towards national holidays really needs some drastic changes…

    Thank you for writing this post.. This article is a tight slap to those who don’t respect their motherland and treat national holidays just like any other Sunday!

    Brilliant Work, Mohan!

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  32. Awesome post at the right time. Kudos to your cousin and i look forward for joining my good old school for celebrating tomorrows republic day proceedings. I was missing this for years together.. now I wont miss a chance. Yet again a great post.

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  33. hmm i do agree most of us………..aren’t paying much respect……….
    I used to be there for the parade on 26th Jan…..till last year…..i moved to bengaluru this year…..It was an amazing feeling to be standing amongst hundreds may be thousands of people…….watching the celebration which may be for some was a life time moment………that was great………

    We don’t respect the day that much ……don’t agree with that much……don’t about others….but my father used to wake me up early in the morning to watch the parade if i couldn’t make to the RAJPATH……….for others, it just depends on them…… i mean it may not be on the same day …….aahhh leaving about others……. it said that …when ever you hear National Anthem ….one should stand in respect of the National Anthem …….but one shouldn’t do that….if you are in a closed room or under a roof…..like inside one’s home…….

    don’t wanna hurt anybody….totally my comment……….full respect to all the soldiers on the border…..even i have 3-4 relatives…working for Army may it be Kashmir or Indo- Tibetan Border……..

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    • Thanks for sharing your thoughts Hitesh. My salutes to all those brave souls out there. I could walk through my association with NCC and participating in RD parade selection memories…

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  34. Thanks for sharing the pics.. I don’t think Lil P or kids her age even know what republic day means.. We don’t celebrate in our apt..Hmm I don’t think so.. Let me see if I can get all kids down for a flag hoisting and singing the national anthem. Happy Republic Day in advance!

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    • Agree. Kids of Lil P’s age might not understand the true reason. However, they can be taught about the things like flag, Republic day parade, participation from various armed forces in celebrating the day etc., will make a difference. Also, showing them the Republic Day parade on DD will amuse them.

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  35. Thanks for this post Mohan. You are bang on the subject and I really admire your cousin for his service for my country! will wait for the pics and each detail of it.

    I am glad that my appartment does celebrate 26th Jan with equal vigor and I am happy to see kids imbibe the same from such events. I just wish and to some extent even feel that all of us really want to stand and salute all our heroes atleast on such occasions and if we all continue thinking like this, we will be the reason.

    Happy Republic Day in advance!

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  36. Thatz a brilliant post Mohan! Hats off to ur cousin and all those folks who risk their lives and bcoz of whom we consider we r safe 🙂 God bless them all 🙂

    We do hv the celebrations in our apartments every yr .. a reminder lest anyone forgets hw important the day is and how many people hv worked at the cost of their lives to help us live the way we r dng today 🙂

    Can’t wait for those pics 🙂

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    • Thanks Swaram. I will certainly pass on all these comments to him. He will feel very happy and much more proud of what he is into for sure!
      Happy Republic day in advance to you!

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