Of course it wasn’t an easy fight, the fight for Independence. Some say it started in 1857, some put a more recent date to it — the founding of the Congress party.
On August 15, 60 years ago, India made a midnight tryst with destiny and joined the world of nations free to choose their future, free to choose their fortunes and free to trip and fall and recover.
It has been a rollercoaster ride since. Four wars (and a half if you count Kargil), two assassinations, abject poverty and starvation to surpluses and overflowing granaries.
Don’t forget the Miss Universe titles and the dizzying victory at Lord’s. How about Pokhran I and II? And how about Sholay, that ultimate Bollywood film?
It’s been a long journey. But in the life and times of nations, this is nothing but a very short trip. There is a lot that lays in store for a country that has just begun to discover its potential.
It has merely taken its first steps yet. It will soon be walking and running. And it will trip and fall. But as the wise Mahatma had lovingly warned us: “Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.”
Hit the rewind button, sit back and let it roll.