Thanks to the separatist groups in the region, since my childhood, Independence Day never used to be a day for celebrations, hope, dreams, or any kind of positivity. Freedom was the last thing we used to have that day. We were scared to take a single step out of our home. 15th August used to be a black day in the calendar. But now, after almost 25-30 years, the times are changing. And the best thing about this is- the times are changing not just for the North Eastern region, but for the whole country. For the first time after decades, it seemed like a real man, a human, spoke from the Red Fort. I think many of you would agree with me when I say that I was getting bored and agitated to see a robot like person reading out messages for the countrymen. We do not want a monosyllabic Prime Minister to read out scripts on a TV screen, looking constantly on the teleprompter. We want a leader. We NEED a leader. And before you jump into any conclusion, let me tell you- I am not politically biased to anyone or any party. I am a common Indian who follows the laws, pays his taxes, and follows most of the social norms, trying to be a good citizen of this country. I am a common Indian who despises the current situation that is prevailing at every level of the society and the administration. The apathy, the indifference appalls me. I want to believe that there will be reformations and India will actually see a new dawn. I want to believe that the next generation will see a better India. I want someone who can show me that dream, who can show me that we can, collectively, achieve that. For that day, dear friends, we need a leader in real sense. And a leader cannot motivate anyone without showing dreams of the better days. So, you should not just call anyone off as just a merchant of dreams. Probably he is trying to motivate you to do your part to achieve that common goal. Probably the people of India have seen such a leader in Narendra Modi.
Personally, the pre-election Modi Wave was somewhat reassuring for me; reassuring for the fact that the youth has finally started to take interest in politics, and probably politics will no longer be a “dirty thing” anymore. Instead, the people will take charge of shaping up the country, taking actions for the betterment of the land. I am not blaming only one party or one government, but we, as a nation, had gone to the depth of hopelessness. We were a nation of anarchy, degrading moral sense, corruption, and indiscipline everywhere. A country cannot progress with a bunch of self-proclaimed intellectuals constantly outraging on Twitter. A country cannot progress with a tyrannical TV anchor conducting debates in his studio over all petty issues and offensively cutting off people. Change does not come that way. We need someone to articulate and act on what we want to see in the country. That person inspires us, he triggers our interest and raises our hope that the current state can change. We need that merchant of dreams, not just to show us dreams but to motivate us to work towards it. Will we really see that soon? Only time will tell.
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I had written this on 15th August 2014, filled with patriotism, enthusiasm, optimism and all that, but was reluctant to post after the beer waned. Found it in the drafts folder today, after 2.5 months. Thought to break the long lasting Writer’s Block with this. At least, let’s try.
Thoughts for naught 