Priya Chib, L K Sharma
“He who loves not his country,
Can love nothing” -Byron
Patriotism is the great and selfless passion of love for one’s own country .It is a noble sentiment .To be a patriot one must be willing to make sacrifices for the sake of the country. An Indian patriot is ever ready to lay down his life in the service of his country, India.
Patriotism is not mere passive love for the country. A true patriot, who loves India, is an active worker. He works at heart and soul for the progress of his India and countrymen. He takes action for maintaining the sovereignty and glory of the motherland. The feeling of patriotism can change zeroes into heroes, murderers into martyrs and sinners into saints. The names of patriots are written in words of gold. Monuments are raised in their memory. Who does not remember patriots like Rana pratap , Tipu sultan, Chhatrapati Shivaji and Rani Lakshmibai and many others. In times of war, patriotism demands from people the readiness to die in the defence of the country. In times of peace it demands a readiness from people to serve the country in other ways. In times of peace a patriot must co-operate with his government. Demonstrations, strikes, and agitations are unpatriotic in character. But it does not mean that the people should surrender meekly to an unjust govt. Many of our elected representatives and govt. employees are corrupt. India has been ranked 79th among 176 countries in the corruption perception index 2016 released by the transparency international organization.
On the contrary, in this modern globalised world, it is hard to draw lines and stick to theoretical patriotism. We buy laptops, made by sony, HP.., we buy IPhone & Samsung galaxy…., wear Levi’s and UCB, eat McDonald’s and KFC, and groom up with L’Oreal’s and Tressme. And any reasonable man would agree that these brands are more of a boon than bane. I mean, these companies have offices in India, employ Indian people, pay their taxes, and provide world class products to the citizens. So in my opinion, there’s nothing wrong in buying these products.
So, I come back to the point, that what should be patriotism in modern India. After much deliberation, I was able to prepare the following list:
Pehle desh, fir Pradesh: I haven’t visited Switzerland yet, but I must say that Kashmir is the most beautiful place in world. No wonder so many English poets & authors have called Kashmir “heaven on earth”. Instead of going to other country, travel and spend money in your own country.
Made in India-many foreign products are made in India, but carry their brand name. I think all such products should carry a tag “made in India”. This way people would slowly develop pride in products “made in India”.
Get back to Hindi: why is Hindi considered the language for those who can’t understand English? This has to be changed.
Hockey and kabaddi- I think we as Indians, should be more interested in these sports and encourage them, than watching Liverpool and Real Madrid. The other little things we can do for our country
* Follow traffic rules. Follow the law
* Always ask for an official receipt.
* Don’t buy smuggled goods. By local.
* Speak positively about us and our country.
* Respect your traffic officer, policeman and other public servants and vice-versa.
* Dispose off your garbage properly. Segregate. Recycle. Conserve.
* During elections, do your solemn duty.
* Pay your taxes.
* Be a good parent. Teach your kids to love our country.
As a student we can try our best to achieve higher level of academic to contribute to our country. This is not only for young people, everyone can learn something new and the things you don’t know. We must care for our environment and keep our surroundings clean. We tackle problems right from women, child labour to traffic problems and infrastructure. In the end I would like to conclude with the saying of our PM Narendra Modi that it is not necessary ,that we must die for the sake of our country, it is like that we must avoid anti-national activities and follow the good principles in life. This is all what patriotism in 21st century means about.
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