Sobhan Kar, Bhubaneswar, 26 January 2025
Greetings to my fellow Indians on the occasion of the completion of 75 years of our Republic! It is indeed a proud moment for all of us that we have grown from strength to strength over the last 75 years in terms of our democracy, supremacy of our Constitution, rule of law, and exercise of political choice by our people. Truly, a remarkable feat when we think about the prevailing situation at the time of our independence!
But can we afford to relax and only pride ourselves on the progress we have made? Certainly not! There are numerous challenges that we are facing internally and externally. I won’t dwell upon the external factors today. It is the internal challenges that we need to fight off today to realise the dreams of our founding fathers. Amongst the many internal challenges, I would like to focus upon two major ones that have completely vitiated the elections and people’s right to represent and to choose representatives honestly.
We are plagued with massive corruption that threatens to completely ruin our political and electoral environment. The use of immeasurable amounts of black money has distorted the electoral system. Honest people face impossible barriers while trying to enter the political arena. Honest voters get washed away by dishonest voters who vote on the basis of money and illegal gratification. Corruption at all levels has fuelled a system where money talks and money dictates. A Republic governed by people from dubious backgrounds augurs poorly for our future. Some political parties and candidates have amassed so much wealth and cash that they are able to influence voters and even elected members. A democracy where votes can be purchased and elected members can be bought over is a poor advertisement of our liberal, modern nation. The Election Commission of India and our political parties have to shoulder the blame for this rotting system that is posing a serious threat to our Republic.
Only we, the people, can find a solution. But to be able to do that, we must first raise our children as righteous and rule-bound citizens. Ethics and morality have to be at the centre of any and every reform. Electoral and political reforms have to start with us. We the people of India have a solemn duty to nurse the Republic back to perfect health. Righteous and courageous citizens can fearlessly question the leaders and the political parties and the Election Commission of India and of the states. Silence is acquiscence and not always golden.
On our 76th Republic Day, let us pledge to be better and responsible citizens; and create even better citizens for the future. That is the only way we can keep our Republic strong and people-centric. Jai Hind!