i hate the way we celebrate independence day in this country, the loud music, righteous speeches, the same two patriotic songs, crowds at commercialised temples, bursting firecrackers till midnight. this is not what our freedom fighters, poets, writers, activists, protestors would've wanted. there is no point in celebrating a day when our country freed itself from its oppressors all those years ago by being inconsiderate to those around us.
on this day, we should honour all those that raised their voices against injustice, the innocent civilians who left the safety of their homes and work places to gather in protests, the artists who so beautifully captured the gravity of their situation and the fierce emotions in their souls, the activists who risked their lives for a better india. it undermines the efforts of all those who are still fighting, against the bjp government, against society's bs prejudices, against the homophobia, against castism and discrimination based on religion.
in the light of recent events, it is more important than ever to remember why we're lucky enough to get the opportunity to be celebrating 15th August in the first place, the cause that united everyone across the country: an unconditional love for humanity. so remember to be kind, remember to be brave and remember to hold onto hope no matter what.
shout-out to: Nandalal Bose, Abanindranath Tagore, Chittaprosad Bhattacharya, Jamini Roy, Ramkinkar Baij, Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, K. Kelappan, A.K. Gopalan, K. R. Narayanan, V. R. Krishna Iyer, Rabindranath Tagore, Jyotirao Phule, Arundhati Roy, Saurav Das, Rohan Davis, Nikita Gill.
happy independence, y'all <3