India @70

Reshaping diets, speeches and even our thoughts.

- Shobhaa De

Let’s start with what happened at a madrassa on Independence Day this year. Little boys and girls, neatly dressed and holding paper flags, were seated on a dhurrie, when a reporter strolled in. Mistaking the journalist for a government officer, sent to ‘check’ and report to headquarters, the madrassa teacher hastily assured the hack everything was on track. “The children have just finished singing the national anthem…but they will sing it again for you if you want, sir.” What a telling moment! Doesn’t that innocent reaction say everything? To me, this incident was far more revealing of the sentiments across the country than the superb interview of Hamid Ansari, and the censored television address of Tripura CM Manik Sarkar. Taken as a whole, these unconnected but significant incidents point to just one thing: Paranoia, and a lack of trust. As Hamid Ansari stated, “Overall, the very fact that the Indianness of any citizen is being questioned is a disturbing thought.”