India celebrated the 72^nd year of the Republic on January 26, 2021. The usual pageantry was missing from the Republic Day Parade this time, but there was no waning of enthusiasm and patriotic spirit. The pandemic compelled cutting down on the number of spectators and participants in the parade, but, nonetheless, it was a great event when India showcased its military might and cultural richness.

In the midst of celebrations and exhibition of patriotism in many ways, one wonders whether the republic has come of age, whether Republic of India is able to effectively deal with the basic issues facing the masses. The challenges facing India are multifold. However, I will dwell only on the basic challenge. Inequality on the basis of caste and economic background is the most serious challenge before India. As one having witnessed life in both India and America, I can, in all honesty, bemoan the fact that India still is having widespread inequality. With inequality comes injustice. Those who are less privileged are pushed around and feel crushed in anexploitative society where the politician, the businessman and the bureaucrat create conditions to keep them low and ensure their exploitation. This has to go. Unless it happens, India will continue to be infested with socio-economic conflicts, leading to various kinds of movements and misery to people. It is amusing to see that when people raise their voice for equality and justice, they are plainly branded as anti-national. One fails to understand what nationalism means to the government in power. Is it to suffer hunger, exploitation, humiliation without raising a voice? Is it doing the bidding of those in power without asking a question why a particular order must be obeyed? Is it accepting the creed of the people in power, and not question why it is necessary to convert to their code of belief and conduct?

This Republic Day when Farmers from many parts of the country completed almost two months of their peaceful protest against the government’s Farm Laws, we need to ask why it was necessary to make them suffer separation from their home and hearth and force them to bare themselves to the bitter cold, with the devil of COVID-19 prowling around. It is not the character of a republic- the nation of the public. Let us wait to see we have a republic in spirit, not just in name.

Jai Hind!