We Are All Cowards

Today, is the Independence Day.
Many schools have already celebrated the day with a cliched finesse, a day before, so that the wealthy parents, the Oh! so hardworking teachers and the busy staff could have a day, or better, a long weekend off. Those who could get out of their houses, no, they didn't go to some I-Day function or flag hoisting, they went, in huge numbers, to the premier of Singham Returns, Rohit Shetty's mix-and-match recipe for a blockbuster hit. Those who stayed home, they didn't see the Prime Minister Modi giving his I-Day oratory on the television, but they did manage to see the just released trailer of Shahrukh Khan's, err.. King Khan's Happy New Year. And the rest of us have probably started for a long holiday.

Yes, Today is the 68th Independence Day in India. And we people have become independent.
No, I was not referring to the Boston bombings or gruesome tale of Israel-Gaza. I am questioning the self-proclaimed Indians, what has become of us?

The PM will never come short of his impassioned speeches, and the commoners will only do justice in entrusting blind faith. Rapes, rampant corruption and communist attacks will continue to add color. Do we realize what a social rot we've become? I reckon we are a part of a long catastrophe. Which will be ended by the third world war - destroying every life possible on this planet. Or, if you dare believe, a Kalki avatar of Vishnu will rise from the stench and purify the souls. Till then, we're content with breaking news covering a rape, a bombing, a kidnap, a loot and a few murders. We're okay with our media spreading the sad, the murky, and the jittery news and making us indulge in restrained living. And we're just happy putting on the blame to others.

From the childhood itself, we're taught to maintain good relations with everyone because they'll help us in the future. We're told to be good with the teachers, and then with our professors, and then our employers, and so on. Why? Because they will keep us afloat. From our childhood we're taught to pay our dues, and whatever extra's asked with it, so that there're no problems in any deal. Yes, a deal. Our lives have turned to an array of deals. And the society presumes we'll be safe once we've committed ourselves to these deals. Just do whatever you're told, and you'll have a safe life. Don't get into a duel, don't cross a damned man's path. No questions, no breakouts. Is this the life we ought to live?

Its easy to say you're not a coward when you put up a Happy Independence Day status on your Facebook account, and use a tricolor as your profile picture. It becomes a lot harder when you see men molesting a woman across the street, or people throwing household garbage by the street, and you have to shut your face and walk away. Safety is cowardice. Security is cowardice. We are just a plain bunch of cowards seeking shelter from the rain.

Heroes are never in short supply in our famed nation, of course, but neither is us, the cowards and the pluralists and the creeps who continue to wallow in melodrama and fear. Our only milestones in life are the tragedies that have mired us. Our souls reek of rotting rye. Our striving for a safe pass makes us suited to be ruled upon. Our weak sentiment makes us easy to be moved at will. Cowardice makes us believe blindly in just one person. The lack of mental and emotional fortitude to face the problems head-on makes us mere blocks in the path of a tsunami. And most of us will think that's just fine, because all of us are cowards.

The country needs a Joker, only then will a Dark Knight rise. Because, we only believe in Heroes. We don't care to look within and find one, among ourselves.