Indian Independence Day.

How does a nation such as Britain whose indigenous written language which developed only in the 9^th Century control a country such as India whose written history dates back 4000 years….. or even dream of ruling India’s 200 million population with its meager 16 million in 1850?

How did the British East India Company (which was owned by wealthy merchants and not the British Government) who first landed on Indian shores in Surat in 1608 for trade, manage to take over the entire country for centuries?

Imagine how India would have been if the British with their superior weaponry and obsessive profit-motive had not come to India or had not got the imperial patronage of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir for a commercial treaty which infact gave the British a territorial foothold in mainland India for centuries!

Well for one, we would not have had Independence Day which we now celebrate every year on 15^th August since 1947!

It was one thing to be subjected to subjugation by foreign traders-turned-tyrants for hundreds of years and it was totally another to volunteer to disintegrate as a nation – partitioning the country of India into three

Since we’ve gotten used to saying ‘past is past’….well past….is past and we commemorate the biggest part of our country’s past in all our futures – the Independence Day.

And while we hoist our flag and raise a toast, we also remember those who gave us this reason to celebrate – our soldiers – our freedom fighters, who were not afraid to bite the bullet.

The 15^th of August each year should mean more than just saluting the Indian Flag and singing the National Anthem. It should mean offering condolences to those who have sustained injuries or lost their loved ones to wars. It should mean acknowledging their bravery and sacrifice. It should mean visiting their families who’re left wondering if it was worth the sacrifice. It should mean paying respects to our soldiers.

21 Gun Salute to our Heroes!

Some of the War Memorials that you could visit:

1.    The India Gate – New Delhi – commemorates 90,000 soldiers who lost their lives fighting for the British Raj in World War I and the Third Anglo-Afghan War.

2.    Chandigarh War Memorial – Chandigarh, Punjab - commemorates the thousands of Martyrs of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Union Territory of Chandigarh.

3.    Dras War Memorial – Kargil District, J&K – commemorates 1200 soldiers who lost their lives in the Kargil War (Operation Vijay) as well as 1000 soldiers who were wounded and 1000 permanently incapacitated.

4.    Tawang War Memorial – Arunachal Pradesh – commemorates soldiers who lost their lives in 1962 Sino-Indian War.

5.    Anglo-Sikh War Memorial – Firozpur, Punjab – commemorates the hundreds of Punjabi soldiers who lost their lives fighting against the British troops.

6.    Darjeeling War Memorial – Batasia Loop, Darjeeling, WB – commemorates 76 Gorkha soldiers who lost their lives in Operation Pawan; Operation Meghdoot and Operation Rakshak.

7.    Victory War Memorial – Chennai, TN – commemorates soldiers of Chennai presidency who lost their lives in World War II.

8.    Jammu War Memorial – Jammu, J&K.

9.    Dharamshala War Memorial – Himachal Pradesh.

10. AP War Memorial, Parade Grounds, Hyderabad, AP.

11. War Memorial - Brigade Road, Bangalore, Karnataka.

12. Kottayam War Memorial – Kottayam, Kerala.

13. National War Memorial – Pune, Maharashtra.

  

Some unusual photos of Indian Independence:

Pandit Nehru with Lord Mountbatten on Independence Day in 1947.

The First Prime Minister of India - Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru gives his first speech holding an Indian Flag on 15 August 1947.

Pix courtesy: indology, post.jagran, sikhphilosophy, freevisuals4u, lazydesis, wikipedia, warbirds, punjabilokvirsa, timescontent, mobile.scrapu, ataworld.