Let’s take a Pledge to bring a Change

Yesterday was Independence Day. I sat through the midnight hour listening to the speech Nehru delivered to the Constituent Assembly 67 years ago. The energy and the positive rhetoric surely must have instilled a lot of hope upon its audience back then. But the times have changed.

We did away with the foreign oppressor, but the oppression has continued.

During the colonial period the people were called upon to fight against oppression; but even after independence they have continued their fight against poverty, illiteracy and underdevelopment. The struggle does not seem to have ended.

With the above in mind I have written the following note below. It is analogous to Nehru’s speech on the eve of independence.

Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes again when we shall reaffirm our pledge to the service of our people with empty words of love for our country.

As the midnight hour struck and the world slept, India remained sleepless as she entered the 67^th anniversary of her ‘independence’. A moment came, not much unlike the 66 previous occurrences, when we failed to step out of where we were, when a mother continued to shed a tear while putting her wailing hungry child to sleep, and when the soul of a nation its farmer continued to take his life and that of his family.

It is fitting that at this solemn moment we accept the duplicity of our intentions to the service of India, her people, and to the still larger cause of humanity.

Let’s take a pledge to make an effort towards bringing a change within ourselves. In any measure, however small it might be.

Towards being less selfish and more humane in our actions, and towards being less professional and more principled in the pursuit of our future goals.

I know that I have a small audience, but I address you with genuine love and all due respect. I hope I have been able to reach out to you.