Republic Day

Being away from your own country, if you happen to identify with it, really makes you crave for identity. You suddenly feel the need to reassert yourself as an Indian, differentiate yourself as a Delhiite, and even occasionally make fun of Bengali's a little less. The point is, you miss home and suddenly realise the identity that comes along with it.
A lot of us wore Kurtas this republic day, a lot of us discussed it with our respective classes. Some event went down to the Indian Embassy to watch the unfurling of the Flag. I was in a crocin induced deep sleep, and wasn't about to get up early enough for that.
But most importantly, it has again made me think out of what I want from my country. What the republic, what the constitution mean to me. Being in Singapore gives you a great perspective, in terms of what freedoms can be denied to citizens, constitutionally or otherwise. Let me elaborate.
There's fundamentally a denial of free speech in Singapore, a right granted and enshrined to each and every Indian citizen in the constitution. Yet, it disturbs me to see parallels between status quo here, and that back home. I may be out of country, but I still read a lot of what's going on. Over the last year, cases such as Kushboo, cases as pointless as society vs Sania Mirza, cases in Meerut over the beating of couples enjoying a moment, it makes me fear. It's all the fault of this wonderful little clause in our laws, which sadly we're not capable of interpreting correctly or justly. It's called Public Indecency, and any of our rights to freedom of speech or expression can be stripped away with the justification that it's Publicly Indecent. Immoral. I question this, and I shall continue questioning this past this day. This isn't what I want a republic to be. Under free speech and individual rights, I have the right to decide what is moral and immoral for myself, I am not bound by a government's diktats, nor must I obey any societal understanding.

There's fundamentally an acceptance in Singapore that the government is in Charge of things, because that's just the way things are. Back home, we call it Mai Baap. This, however, I am happy to say I can see changing, and have seen changing over the past six seven years that I have had the will to observe it. There's less reliance on the Goremeint to bail you out of your misery, there's a greater will towards working for it yourself.

These are two grouses I have, and two parallels I see. Both point to the same thing, a Sham of a democracy in two countries, one recognised as a Sham, and one merrily playing along as the World's Largest Democratic Government. It's the same thing at the end of the day.

I love my country, and it's my duty to criticise this part of it. If this seems repetitive to a similiar entry last year, I care not. It's important that this be seen in the light it is. It's important that I continue to voice myself. Its Republic Day, and free speech is all I'm asking for.
Really free.
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