Anupam- The Dreamer

Strong citizens for a strong nation ✊

There are certain days in the history of a nation which are very significant given their historical and cultural significance. Independence Day, is certainly one of the most important among them. The day when its people became free from the chains of slavery and oppression, when the soul of the nation regained its voice of freedom, when the humanity and human values can again breathe in an atmosphere of positivity and hope for a better future.

The dimensions of “being independent” can be many and everyone in this country is free to interpret it in their own way, otherwise what is the purpose of independence and freedom! I want to delve upon the dimension of what constitutes a nation and what makes it strong, happy and prosperous nation!

Nation, in theoretical sense, is a territory of a land inhabited by a sovereign group of people who identify themselves as one entity. So, basically, the people are the basic constituents of a nation. And people means every single individual, young or old, men or women or third gender, poor and rich, literate and illiterate, etc etc. So, at granular level, every person is a representative of his/her nation. Therefore, for a strong, happy and prosperous nation, it is imperative that every person is also strong, happy and prosperous! As simple as that!

Here you can see that strength of every individual would eventually add upto the strength of the nation. As a consequence, if the people don’t have strength individually, then they cannot make a strong nation. However, if every individual tries to do his/her best in any field of human endeavour, then he/she is directly or indirectly contributing to the strength of the nation. And here it is the responsibility of the nation as a whole (or a group of people who influence the individual) to provide conducive atmosphere for the best development of each and every individual. For example, family, friends, teachers, leaders, social workers, technocrats, professionals etc. Everyone has a role to ensure that the person achieves his/her best potential. And when the person will be developed in every sense, in terms of knowledge, wisdom, values, finance, culture, etc., then he/she will become an asset to his/her nation. Then a strong, happy and prosperous individual will become the foundation of a strong, happy and prosperous nation!

But till the time, there is poverty, illiteracy, disease, child labour, and all sorts of malaises in the society, it cannot truly become a great one. The weaknesses of the society should be tackled at the individual level and also at the societal level. And it is bounden responsibility of every responsible citizen to conquer his/her own weaknesses, so that he/she can contribute fully to his/her own family, society, nation and even humanity at large. The seed of happiness should sprout within the person first and then it should spread happiness all around. When everyone is strong, happy and prosperous, the world around us will be strong, happy and prosperous!

In this process, we must not forget that the person is organically linked from the society in which he/she lives. So, focus on developing an individual does not mean that his/her development can take place even at the expense of his/her own brethren around (or the nation at large). Selfishness of any one person can never override the interests of the nation as a whole. And in the focus on an individual person, we must never forget that an individual is nothing without the society around! Everything that a person receives from the birth to death is given by the society, so focus on individualism and freedom of a person should never make us myopic to the interests of the society and the nation on the whole.

A nation is like the ocean with individual like its drops of water. The ocean is formed by each of its drops! And a single drop has no existence bereft of the ocean!

And whenever you see some individuals who are working against the interests of a society for their petty interests, you must remember the words of Gandhiji when he said:

“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.”

For a strong, happy and prosperous India 🇮🇳✌