गणतंत्र दिवस

Being a citizen of a country doesn’t just mean being a legal resident, there are a lot of responsibilities that come with it. Our ancestors were apes, living in a chaotic world. Now we are living in a civilized society; we have truly come a long way. Being a part of this society is a privilege as it offers peace, order and humanity. It gives you identity, status, respect, etc. But these things only come if you contribute to the society as well. Society as a unit can function properly only when the individuals living in it maintain peace and order. Each individual should respect the rights and liberties that he/she has been given and be proud of being a part of society. As a citizen, it is your duty to abide by the rules and regulations that have been set to avoid chaos. It is important to be informed and vigilant. Mankind has successfully achieved civilization because we didn’t just evolve physically, we also evolved psychologically. We have come to the realization that the only way to survive is to live together in peace.

But that being said, it is the 21^st century and chaos exists in every society in the world. This chaos exists because people are greedy for money, power, status, etc. These people overlook law and order to satisfy their needs. These people don’t care about the repercussions they will cause to the society and the people living in them. Some people intentionally create chaos and destruction and innocent people face the consequences. In such times, it isn’t enough to just be informed and vigilant. Citizens should take a step to contribute to their country and help the people residing in it. A lot of countries are dealing with poverty, unemployment, bad economy, violence on women and many other issues; countries where governments are fooling the public using mass media to deviate people’s attention away from these issues. When you’re living under such a government, it is important to criticize it but stupid to rely on it. At such times, the public has to show unity in solving such problems.

In this modern era, an ordinary man/woman can do a lot to contribute. Social media is a good tool to have a voice against any transgressions that affect you. You have a voice and can criticize anyone you want. If you are fighting for a good cause there are always good people out there to support you. This public power comes from the frustration of the people towards corrupt politicians and dishonest governments. This fraternity comes from the people’s belief of a better tomorrow. This unity comes from the progressive nature of the people who believe in tackling close-mindedness and focusing on development. Citizens need to promote this progressive nature to end problems like sexism, feminism, racism, caste discrimination, classism, etc. The behaviour of people needs to be monitored to avoid hatred on the basis of any kind of differences. The behaviour of an individual is the result of the environment or the circumstances he/she grows up in. So we need to improve the environment and better the circumstances to make good individuals and responsible citizens.

Not all of us are born in families where parents raise good individuals. Not all of us have friends who respect everyone and don’t discriminate. We have to be educated enough to acknowledge our differences and live together. We have to be aware and knowledgeable about current affairs and be intellectual enough to distinguish between right and wrong. We have to debate with people who are regressive and conservative. We have to make sure that the people around us are contributing towards society. We as citizens should abide by the law and be aware of our actions as they could affect others. We as individuals should learn from our mistakes and work towards a better future. We should always keep improving ourselves and others so that the next generation will be better than us lead a good lifestyle.

– Anukul Thete