63 YEARS OLD ON 15TH AUGUST.

Peace and harmony

Independence Day has arrived once again. Our freedom from foreign rule will be 63 years old on 15th August.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will address the nation in the morning from the ramparts of our historic Red Fort-"Lal Qila". The fort was built by Shah Jehan in 1638, and it took ten years for completion. The Red Fort was originally referred to as "Qila-i-Mubarak "

At one point of time, more than 3,000 people lived within the premises of the Red Fort complex. But after the First War of Independence of 1857, the fort was captured by the British and the residential palaces were destroyed. The desire of Lord Palmerston of Britain was that Delhi should be deleted from the map. Lord Canning too was similarly inclined, but John Lawrence the Chief Commissioner of Punjab, helped wiser sense prevail. Theo Metcalfe had been instrumental in wholesale slaughter of Indian nationalists. He was like a man possessed, who wanted only death and destruction of Dilli and Dilliwalas. The beautiful buildings inside the Fort which were allowed to stand, were turned into the British Officer's mess , canteen, and military prison. The fort was made the headquarters of the British Indian Army and ugly Army barracks were built where beautiful buildings and gardens once existed.

In 1857, Bahadur Shah Zafar was tried at the Red Fort on charges of "rebellion, treason, and murder,"and also for "not regarding his allegiance as a British subject". The charges seem quite absurd considering that Zafar was the King - whom did he rebel against? The East India Company-which had come to trade ? Zafar could have been tried as a defeated enemy king - but a rebel, guilty of treason?? But then sadly for Zafar, he was tried by a Military Commission and not a proper court of law.The victors lay all the rules!!

It was also here in November 1945, that the most famous court martial of three officers of the Indian National Army(INA) were held. It was the joint court-martial of Colonel Prem Sahgal, Colonel Gurubaksh Singh Dhllon, and Major General Shah Nawaz Khan. My mother incidentally used to go to the Court to follow the proceedings. After India gained independence in 1947, the Indian Army took control of the fort, and gave it completely back to the nation in 2003.

The fort was the site of a December 2000 attack by a  terrorist group "Lashkar -e- toiba", which killed two soldiers and one civilian in what was described in the media, as an attempt to derail the India-Pakistan peace process in Kashmir.

Yes indeed, the Red Fort has seen a lot of pain, misery and destruction. Now the Fort is maintained well, and also has a Son et Lumiere programme where the history of the Red Fort is beautifully shown.

The first war of independence, which was a rebellion, without proper planning and leadership, ended the Mughal dynasty as well as the culture, the tolerance of religion and brotherhood of Delhi. It left in its wake the British Empire which coloured history, as victors normally do. They also began their "divide and rule policy" which once and for all destroyed the Ganga - Jamuni tehzeeb, which propagated  tolerance for all religions and peaceful co existence of all people. 


All those who killed the Dilliwalas and created chaos, misery, suffering for the ordinary citizens have roads and buildings named after them. The Mughal dynasty, in fact the entire lineage was wiped out, or left to suffer in poverty. Bahadur Shah himself was deported to Burma. He was a poet and a scholar,but he was not even given a pen or paper to write on. It is said that he wrote on the walls of his room with a burnt stick. He was not even referred to as the Ex- King. He and his family were simply referred to as the "prisoners from Delhi." His death and grave was not befitting his status.

In contrast to this, we see that the rajas and maharajas of smaller states, managed to survive with their progeny and properties intact.Most of them made treaties with the ruling victors,and saved themselves from poverty, misery and exile.

Independence from the British rule was won after immense struggle of the people of India. One has read about the involvement of almost everyone in the freedom movement. The naram(soft) dal, the garam(hot headed) dal, the Vanar sena(monkey brigade), the moderates, the extremists, the Satyagraha, the Civil Disobedience, the Khadi movement, the Quit India Movement, the sacrifice of the people. All these remind us that Independence, which was won after so much of death, destruction and heroic deeds, is something to be cherished, looked after, respected and upheld. We have to fight against corruption, social injustice, caste system, superstition, the dependence on godmen, the following of blind faith, illiteracy and ignorance.

Poverty, which needs to be eradicated, will be possible with equitable distribution of wealth. Ignorance needs to be removed. Everyone needs to see the light of education and benefit by equal opportunity. Tolerance for people with lesser abilities has to be inculcated, so that bringing them up to the level of the able people is possible. The freedom to breath the same air, drink the same water and, enjoy the wealth of our nation, is equal for each citizen of our country. It has been provided in our great Constitution. It is for all of us to make our own effort to ensure that everyone gets their due share. It will only be then, that we, the inheritors of the benefit of Independence, who received Independence on a platter, will have proved ourselves worthy of being citizens of India.

Greetings on Independence Day.