Life is enriched by the connections we make and the relationships we nurture. As the worlds largest democracy it falls on us to find a right working out of the socio economic conditions that affect us all. We also have the duty of unveiling to the world the best learnings from an ancient culture as we try to find its relevance in todays clime.
We seek to temper technology with a healthy perspective and concern for the people around us especially the ones outside our borders.
A rallying point for all things bright and beautiful, Build India Group is committed to helping all strata of society through better infrastructure, better governance, better informed decisions about social causes, more fulfilling lifestyle, more socially conscious companies, better development of technical, functional and soft skills.
November 26 shall be celebrated as a national day- CITIZENS DAY (In USA, Constitution Day is celebrated as the Citizens’ Day). On this day in 1949, about 35 crore people collectively became the owners of the country with the declaration, “We the people of India….give to ourselves this constitution” in the preamble to the Constitution of India, and their status as subjects in their respective kingdoms/provinces was changed. This is the most significant moment in the history of the country, though hardly we realise it.
This day shall not be declared as holiday. This day should be an activity-day dedicated to promoting peace, love and harmony. This will be a day to dedicate one’s self towards a better work culture, keeping in view that the national interests are paramount.
All newspapers, vernacular and English, must carry messages from the President/ Prime Minister/State Chief Ministers on November 26 or few days preceding the day on the relevance of the festival. Social media can spread the idea for bigger outreach.
Must repeat the message on the festival of peace, love and harmony
In rural or suburban areas, students must carry placards in morning processions (Prabhat Pheri) with the following messages: “Reject violence in any form”,” Keep the environment clean”, ”Let us cultivate good citizenry for a healthy country”, “Help the needy”, “Use toilets”, “Conserve water” etc. Use of tricolours as a symbol of unity will certainly be motivating. Ramdhun may also be encouraged.
In cities where there is no scope for morning processions, children should carry to their respective schools/institutions posters or placards, form human chains, have slogan competitions among other things. (All care should be taken not to hurt any one’s socio-cultural or religious sentiments). School managements with local authorities can involve students in plantation drives in earmarked areas. If this is done, crores of saplings could be planted on a single day. It would be a world class example on environmental work.
Non-students and voluntary organisations can organise, among other things, Swatch Bharat Abhiyan, pond cleaning, road cleaning, blood donation camps, health camps and plantations.
Messages from the President/ Prime Minister/State chief ministers shall be broadcast on Radio and TV.They should be read in vernacular languages or any suitable language in all educational institutions across the country. In institutions, where there is no TV or Radio, teachers should read messages from the newspapers and explain to the students the purpose of the programme.
Symphony of harmony i.e. conch bleat from temples, sirens from masjids, drums beats from Gurudwara and of all other holy institutions across the country for three minutes, to usher in the sanctimonious moment. Use of microphones or amplifiers should be avoided as much as possible. (Gandhiji had a dream of a similar idea in 1947 when he was asked how to celebrate the Independence Day. He said in “Young India” “if the declaration (of independence) is made by whole villages, whole cities even.. it would be well if all the meetings were held at the identical minute at all places).
Students should have the pledge in unison in their mother-tongue and sign on the document already signed by their parents. (Pledge in 15 languages circulated by Build India Group in over 1000 educational institutions can be taken as models.)
Discourses in educational institutions on nationalism as the theme particularly with reference to Article 51 A of the Constitution and Preamble. Office-goers even in private establishments, lawyers and other professionals shall sign the pledge of allegiance to the country in their respective institutions.
There should be nation-wide discussions on what kind of India the young Indians want for themselves within the framework of Indian constitution.
Food festival with nationalism as the theme. Community lunches, where all can eat together, should be arranged keeping cleanliness and no-littering as the overriding principles. People living in villages may prepare meals together and eat. In cities, resident welfare associations and mohallas can have similar festivals. The idea is to ensure that people notwithstanding their socio-religious and economic status come together and eat and share some moments of togetherness. (Since it is a day of non-violence, animal killing can be avoided. Drinking liquor/wine or intoxicating beverages should also be avoided.)
Inter-faith prayers in all cities for peace, love and harmony. Dance, drama and other cultural activities on nationalism as the theme should mark the day. A major cultural evening in Delhi involving prominent artists from cinema, theatres, folk dances etc from across the country on the theme of Indianness could be the culminating point of the day-long programme.
A resolution that at an appointed hour (10.15 am) there shall be a symphony of harmony i.e. conch bleat from temples, sirens from masjids, drums beats from Gurudwara and of all other religious institutions across the country for three minutes, to usher in the sanctimonious moment when 30 crore students will pledge their love and loyalty to the country in their mother tongues, to reject violence against the state, individual and community and promise to be good citizens. (We have no intention to affect any ritual or schedule of religious programmes. In fact it is an endeavour to promote equal respect for all faith systems)
A similar message with identical thought from all Chief Ministers in their respective regional languages (All messages, widely carried out by newspapers, electronic media and social media, are to be read out in each and every class right from the primary to the post graduation level and in all educational institutions across the country at an identical time i.e. 10.00 am. This should also be broadcast in all TV channels, Radio and social media. Where there is no outreach of media, school teachers shall carry the vernacular newspapers and read out the messages in the class rooms)
Community lunch cutting across caste and religious hiatus, is always a great step forward towards vasudheiva kutumbakam. This can be encouraged in educational institutions, in cities and rural villages as well. To promote this concept, government can provide free meal to each and every individual in the country to ensure that not a single individual is left hungry on this day.
On this day, NGOs and students in consultation with their educational institution managements and horticulturists can identify areas where plantation of trees can be undertaken and participants in such programmes should undertake watering of the plants at least for two weeks so that the plant stabilizes to grow on its own.
On this day country-wide blood donation camps can be organised with proper care in the morning hours.
Vasudheiva Kutumbakam, means the whole earth is a family, is the basic foundation of Indian cultural and spiritual heritage. This has been taken from Hitopadesha. The concept has no discrimination among man and animals. Peace, love and harmony are essential to fostering vasudheiva kutumbakam. Peace is a pre-condition to progress. Love creates trust. Harmony provides adhesive for unity and discipline. All these three tenets of human behaviour are basic to all faith systems in the world.
If the citizens pledge festival becomes an every home program, it would be a world class model worth emulating for all the countries in the world. Since Indian is an intense spiritual area of the world, it has all the potential to be the leader with the blessings of all its seers belonging different faith systems evolved since time immemorial.
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