Degrees of freedom
What is the difference between an independent nation and a sovereign nation?
Scene 1 - The Flag hoisting
Shwetansh - an 8th grader - peered closely at the group singing patriotic songs under the Indian tricolor. He always felt a sense of pride attending the flag hoisting as it rejigged his memory of freedom fighters and stories.
A thought crossed his mind as to what is the difference between 15th August - Independence Day and 26th January - Republic Day?
As the Republic Day commemoration ended, the students lined up to pick the sweets and then head back to the class. Standing in line, he asked this to his class teacher. Not satisfied with her answer, later he walked up to the History teacher, then the English teacher until the principal caught up with him.
Principal - “You have a good question, and I would like to answer it in detail”
Shwetansh - “thank you sir!”
Principal - “Next week, I will be visiting your class for inspection, post that, remind me!”
Scene 2 - Story of the hawks
The following week the class was under inspection by the principal. As the principal finished with his stern feedback to the class, he paused for a moment to see if Shwetansh remembered.
Sensing it, Shwetansh posed the question reminding the principal of their conversation.
Principal smiled as he felt proud of the student’s learning desire.
“Last week, I heard you asking your teachers and noticed that you were not convinced with the answers. Your curiosity was impressive and so I intervened to make sure you understand the full history.”
“Unless your generation realizes this difference, we will miss the point of history and repeat the mistakes.”
“This is an anecdote my veterinarian friend told me many years ago.
One of his rich clients had pet hawks who he cared for deeply. One year, the client hit a massive loss in business and had to sell off his house and assets. Unable to feed the hawks, he released them into the wild.
The hawks had been cared for by him since they were born and were fed wholesome meals. In the wild, they had no skills to survive - hunting or foraging.
Within days, they flew back to the man who pushed them away. Within weeks they starved to death or were preyed on by other birds.
In captivity, they were in bondage but fed wholesome meals. However, this meant they never needed to fight for survival. They learnt no skills and made no kills.
Left in wild, they were now free. But they had to fight for survival. With no skills, they withered away.”
When we became independent, we were still part of the Commonwealth.
We were free like the hawks in the story, but we did not know how to fend for ourselves.
We were still governed by the British rule under the Government of India Act of 1935.
Free, but no independent structure to manage the freedom.
Free, but no skills to build a new future.
Free, but not yet free.
In the 3 or so years, between independence to January 1950, our leaders collaborated to draft the constitution.
The Indian Constitution came into effect on January 26, 1950, marking a significant milestone in India's history as it transitioned from a dominion under British rule to a sovereign, democratic republic.
The Constitution provided a framework for self-governance, outlining fundamental rights, duties, and responsibilities for citizens while establishing various branches of government (executive, legislature, judiciary) with checks and balances.
This meant that the people of India now had a vision of the future, a purpose to live by and a path to the future. It also implied guard rails they could rely on to safely tread this path.
Republic day commemorates this significant milestone where India became a sovereign state - a self-governing State with an established framework.
Today, in the marketplace economy, each State participates with its skills and resources. The economic numbers present a rosy and hazy picture. But are all States truly sovereign? Can they exist and govern themselves independently?
It is for you to study and learn. My aim is to make sure you understand history so as to ensure you write this country’s future with a new, fresh outlook.
The students had sparkle in their eyes and a newfound admiration for their principal.
Nicely written