Sense - Independence

It was 1998 and I was a class 10 student then, while my India celebrated its 50 years of independence. I thought the timing of the 50th year could not have been more appropriate. It has been 9 years since, almost a decade, but somehow the I-day instills the same amount of spirit in me; something that makes me happier than done by Diwali or other festivals. Pretty interesting since I don’t consider myself patriotic to a maudlin extent.

Then what does I-day mean to me? Just like million other fellow country men, woke up to the view the I-day special programs on TV. To start with, the vernacular channels enabled me view a slew of charted programs for the day. The first being some songs on the nation, well before anybody would be awake to view; interestingly as a part of non-prime time category, (no sponsors). From 9’o clock and onwards till 9 at night, every program is backed by a billion sponsors. I am not too cynical but the fact is that every channel managed to rope in upcoming actress; to instill patriotism with their experiences as an item number in their count-ably few movies? Then came the interview with the production units of the upcoming films, clichéd to the unimaginable extent, followed by the Super star’s movie for the nth time. Each channel competed in broadcasting the latest movie. They were all quite entertaining, with their sneek-peek into the celebrity life, behind the scene clips etc. But in retrospect, I donot suppose that I was even reminded of the fact that it is I-day today. It wasn’t even the program’s motive I presume. What it reveals is the inability of the vernacular channels to sell the concept of patriotism, though patriotism is the second most widely used formula in movies, next only to ‘romance’.

It is really upsetting to see such inability so blatantly revealed. Why are these channels eternally unable to create public opinion? (Except, when the political leader of its affiliated party puts forth his view on some junk topic). Did they even make an attempt to produce a quality program to reflect, leave alone creating, the mood of the public? Aren’t they simply divesting their responsibility of creating or focusing public opinion? When they can cover every single celebrate stage show, cant they atleast summarize the PM’s address to our nation into an half an hour show? Is it just about money? But last time an eminent celebrity died, they covered the whole episode for 2 days without a single commercial break!!!

To save the nations skin, the news channels did create documentaries, interviewed soldiers at Siachein, reported on martyr etc. Some provided insights on how the concept of patriotism was handled in advertising and branding. But soon after these, they called upon Amithab Bachan to share his notions on Independence. The program was titled “Beyond Bacchan’ and the caption being “sexy at sixty”. Were they trying to validate that Amitabh was indeed born in the pre-independence era and hence his relevance to the I- day? One particular channel even stormed the parliament and asked its inmates to differentiate between rashtriya geeth and rashtriya gana. Not surprisingly almost everyone blabbered, with the political grace to the answer. May be the Netas would have answered with 100% precision, had they been asked about Madhuri Dixit’s hip size. The youth is no better off either. My friend, who can list down all the 50 US states, doesn’t know the number of states in India, partly because he wasn’t consulted while the 3 new states were created. There was one other channel that aptly centered the idea of patriotism on cricket. Each player took turns to say “I play for India”, in their mother tongue. A really appreciable concept, because I have seen many people feel patriotic only when there is a cricket match being held. Yet I would not be surprised to find its tomorrow’s newspaper publication carrying a model wearing a tri-color bikini, illustrating an article on “independence and empowered women”. The same news paper reported on, “by whom, how and where Britney Spears got pregnant”, while it failed to report on the sudden rise in female feticide in Rajasthan. Pathetic.

Though a great job was done by the news groups, the programs lacked the fervor. The lack of spirit was evident. Gone are the days when Doordharshan’s programs on history of independence, interviews with freedom fighter, the movies “Gandhi”, “Sardar” etc were watched by everyone. We no longer get to view the “spirit of unity concerts” that was relayed every Sunday. “Mile sur mera thumhara” now is merely a successful campaign designed by Mr. Pandey, the creative director at O&M advertising agency.

Why did I bring in the details? The reason is that patriotism requires patronizing. Like any marketing technique aimed at retaining brand loyalty. Patriotism never dies, but lurks inside. It needs reassurance, constant kindling just like any brand needs to be treated. It is not as ridiculous as it sounds; the US does this. Compare the speeches given by their president and those down by our Netas. Just count the number of times they spell ‘America’, and the vehemence with which he spells. Look at Israel for the same. The flaw lies in the promotion (4ps of marketing). “Rendezvous with Simi Gariwaal” for the week had its promos flashed but the special documentaries on the soldiers had none. Create more ad campaigns in line with ‘Mile sur’. Just as we sell the ‘Incredible India’ to promote global tourism in India, promote the same campaign within the country. Exploit the wave created by movies like Rang De Basanthi etc for promote general awareness. Increase the participation of common man in the celebrations. Devote a small section in the magazines and newspaper to report the good news about India, its people and its progress.

Though much is said on the part that lacks, it has to be clearly understood that the average Indian citizen’s patriotism is no way deplorable. People forward several mails on the glories of India, the way the nation stood at the face of July 26th Mumbai floods, president Kalam’s and Narayan Moorthy’s speeches. Yet the only concern is that the rise of patriotism is even driven and sporadic.

It is not wrong to voice our spirit more often, it is not wrong to flaunt the spirit, it is not wrong to make an effort to sustain the sense of unity and freedom every minute and every second. It is indeed required to promote, publicize and eventually feel proud of ourselves. We have a long history of freedom struggle, every bit of which needs to be remembered. We have lost so many lives to gain freedom and are still losing many at our frontiers, each of which requires tribute to be paid. We have varied and vibrant cultures, the nuances and interdependencies of which sustain unity has to be understood. To verily understand what Independence means, once in a while at least, history has to be relived. Not even one of these concerns can be addressed by celebrities sharing their experiences or by screening a new film. Let us make some sense out of what we do and why we do it. It is high time the government and media take note of this and make it a point to pursue the promotion of patriotism, like a true patriot would or at least act more responsibly.