My dear students,
A happy 75th Independence day to all of us – the citizens of this great country.
We often celebrate Independence Day without realizing its significance. True, India was free from the yoke of British rule on this day in 1947. However, this freedom did not come to us easily.
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An Independence that was obtained at a heavy cost
It came from the continuous sacrifices of thousands of freedom fighters across the country over a period of 200 years. The British came in the form of traders from Britain and slowly over a period of 150 years, gained control over the whole of the Indian subcontinent.
They looted the wealth of India which as per today’s value is the combined wealth of the top 5 richest countries in the world.
Their heartless policies drove our farmers into poverty. Farmers had to pay taxes even if they could not grow anything due to lack of rain or other reasons
They made sure that modern technology never reached Indians in any field for as long as possible.
Lakhs and lakhs of people died due to famines, floods, diseases, starvation, etc during the British rule.
The First War of Indian Independence
The first time that Indians united to fight against British rule was in 1857 – popularly called the First War of Independence. Rules like Jhansi Rani Laxmi Bai, Tatya Tope, King of Gwalior and others joined hands. However, we failed to defeat the British. We were destined to remain as a colony of the British for another 90 years.
However, from 1910 onwards, the struggle for freedom intensified. Revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh, Khudiram Bhose, Chandrashekar Azad, Veer Savarkar, Chittaranjan Das terrified the British with their daring acts. The first cracks in the British control of India appeared. People slowly began to believe that the British could actually be driven out, provided all the people of India unite.
The appearance of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sarojini Naidu, Lala Lajpat Rai, Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Subhas Chandra Bose and scores of other famous freedom fighters on the scene united the people in the struggle against the British.
Freedom at last
Free India was born after a dark spell of 200 plus years. 75 years have passed since then. However, the freedom we enjoy today should not be taken for granted. We should stay united for the sake of our country.
Their tireless and supreme sacrifices eventually brought the British to their knees. The British agreed to grant freedom to our country at the stroke of midnight on 15th August 1947.
The Road Ahead
As we enjoy the freedom our forefathers have blessed us with, we should ensure that all our efforts go in the direction of taking our country towards a position of respect, strength and greatness among the nations of the world. That would be a most befitting gift we could give for the future generations of our great Motherland.
