Happy Birthday India

The Indian tri-color represented by colorful balloons
Ahmedabad, Gujarat

What is to be said of a nation that in its 65th year of Independence witnesses a fresh wave of unrest? A  movement for independence from its own people? A nation in which one man leads the country in a manner reminiscent of the freedom struggle fought 65 years ago? When its youth, to whom 'social' had otherwise come to mean a social profile on a website, now drive out in hordes to support a man they know little about. A man who 65 years on, follows the same principles as his idol to free his nation from the clutches of those who abuse its sanctity? There are more questions in my mind than opinions, more excitement than doubt, more patriotism than cynicism.

It reminds me of the one great speech made on the occasion of India's Independence, that I know still gives most Indians goosebumps.

I quote,

"Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance."

~ Jawaharlal Nehru

Happy Birthday India!