Value The Republic, Cherish Freedom Won At A Cost

This Republic Day, when we glorify our brave citizens who have upheld our republic's moral values, we must also realise there are many more battles to be fought and many more to be won

- KAPIL SIBAL

As we celebrate the completion of 75 years of our republic, we, at the outset, pay homage to those who brought us freedom. We pay tribute to the sacrifices made by millions who resolved to fight the might of the Empire with the weapon of non-violence. Used for the first time in any freedom struggle, this weapon signified a moral authority more powerful than the threats, violence, and criminal dehumanising acts our people were subjected to.

After years of struggle under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, the unwavering commitment of leading personalities who jettisoned their personal interests to join the struggle, and the sacrifices and emotive responses of millions of ordinary people, we won the long-fought battle for freedom. Though etched in our memory, these moments of history reverberate even today. Our republic owes its very existence to this struggle.

All individuals, all societies, by the nature of their existence, are aspirational. At the same time, all governments of whatever hue think that they know best. There always exists a gap between aspirations and reality. In democratic societies, governments are brought to account after every few years. Unmet aspirations call for change, but governments seek longevity. If longevity in democratic societies is achieved by trampling freedoms, that becomes a societal concern. The seeds of the conflict lie there.

It is said that there is no present. There is only the past. It is the past through which we learn to commit once again to fight for the cause of freedom, the nature and the quality of which have changed with time. New challenges confront our republic.