It is indeed a milestone for a country that is celebrating 75 years of Independence or seven and a half decades of democracy and that too in a turbulent international system along with threats to internal security. To cherish and celebrate what our forefathers and great leaders fought for is one thing; even more critical is that as a country there is the continuing struggle to safeguard what we fought for and won and ensuring the gains are not squandered away on an impulse.
Ask the world’s oldest democracies like the United States and they will tell how they are still fighting off forces of institutionalized racism and discrimination; the real rights for women and minorities, to mention a few. India is a nation of many civilizations, cultures and sub cultures, multiple languages and hundreds of dialects but what unites us all is the spirit of oneness and a determination to work through our differences in a civilized way.
