Today is the birth anniversary of the iron man of India,Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. It is also the death anniversary of our late PrimeMinister, Smt. Indira Gandhi.
Sardar Patel was amongst the tallest leaders of our freedommovement and newly independent India. In fact, today what we know as India islargely due to his efforts. Anyways, I guess we do remember our school booksmentioning this particular aspect of our history. On the other hand, Smt. Gandhiwas one of the strongest PMs India ever had. So strong, that once she curbedthe very democracy that made her PM!
This post doesn’t attempt to be a history lesson. Though I hopethat today’s youth understands the difference between a leader who unifiedIndia versus one who despite her many strong points, subverted the very idea ofIndian democracy. (That particular episode, of forced emergency is not taughtin our govt. controlled history curriculum.)
What this post attempts is to be a brief reminder of how we,largely fed by our media are gradually relegating those who really matter(ed)to only the history books while making gods out of those well, who don’t matterthat much. See the number of ads devoted to Mrs. Gandhi in today’s newspapersversus the one ad remembering Sardar. All these ads have been carried out bythe ruling party Congress or the various government ministries under itscontrol. (And it is the taxpayers money, our money that fuels this sycophancy.)I would have been happy if it were only sycophancy on Congress’ part. Its dynasticcult is quite well-known to be talked about here.
What I’m more worried about is the gradual replacement ofour true history by the one sponsored by those who have ruled us for the majorpart of our independent existence. Contrary to what Congress’ and its mediamanagers want us to believe, Sardar and what he did for India is far moreimportant than Indira and her way of ruling India. And this little, 370 oddwords post is my attempt to set things right, in my own insignificantly significantway. Today is my day, our day, to first remember Sardar, while not forgettingIndira as well. Are you with me?
Born in New Delhi, India in 1980 and is a retired pessimist (still) living in New Delhi. He has Haryanvi ancestors, a Punjabi girlfriend, friends all over the world, two (or more) yet to be born children, (many) memories of (many) pet dogs and no cats ever. He holds an honours degree in English Literature from the University of Delhi and creates advertisements for paying the bills. His interests are universal, and include: living, eating, sleeping and when not sleeping, daydreaming. Other abiding interests include reading, writing, street photography, newspaper editorials, watching the moon and planning trekking trips that never materialize.