The 70th year of Independence

Mr Modi has always been known for his characteristic double entendre wordplay, and has validated this very fact on today’s Independence Day Speech. His epic diatribe on Pakistan  triggered the alleged  establishment that Pakistan wants to rule Kashmir but it forgets that it is not paying any heed to its own Baloch residents. This remark did create a launch in many minds and many Baloch opinion makers like Brahumdag Bukti, the grandson of the eminent Baloch leader Akbar Bukti who was killed in the military operation of 2006 , have supported him and thanked him for this consideration. The man can scatter  notions and plant new notions in the minds of people. What a phenomenal leader! He spoke about many developments like the Railway ticket buffer improvement, refund of Income tax made easy, faster issuing of Passports, potentiality of the GST bill and many other expansions and enlargements.

While he spoke about humanity and unity, what interested me the most was his statement, “If the society disintegrates, the empire straggles, gets divided into the highs and the lows”. We as a country is  home to various ethnicities , religions and races and we are so proud about it that our patriotic Independence day write ups and messages throw light on this very “Unity in Diversity” aspect about our country. Yes, this is indeed a matter of pride for our country and its people; but even then how much of it is really true? Modi did say that India as a country attained Independence 70 years ago but what about the Independence of its citizens? Are we allowed to have our own thoughts? Are we afraid to express them for the fear of sedition, or are we in some way biased with our thoughts? There are many points to prove this very point but I would like to bring your attention to a long forgotten Community that proudly calls India its home- The Siddhi Community.

As per my research, the ancestors of the Siddhi Tribe had migrated to India from East Africa on the 15^th Century and lived on our land as merchants, slaves and mercenaries. Ever since then and till now, they have called India- their home but mostly they stayed aloof from the archetypal Indian civilization for obvious reasons; they were not accepted (communally or socially because they were black) by our people who say- "We as a country are one, irrespective of our caste, creed and colour." However, there came a time in 1987, when the Sports Authority of India set up a Special Area Games Scheme that put the Siddhi community on focus. The members were trained to be potential Olympians and International performers for sports so that they could win a medal for our county and make us proud, which they did. They were chosen by the scheme as potentials because of their African genes that make them naturally exceptional in sports. There were many winners from the Siddhi community and they sure did make our country proud but soon enough, the programme was inexplicably shut down by sending letters to the athletes that their services were no longer needed. Post the close-down, a lot of the former athletes had to look for alternative means of living and were trying their level best to be accepted in our stereotypical world; some were accepted but many were ridiculed and insulted because they were blacks and were not considered Indians. However, we must not forget the fact that this community speaks Hindi and the regional languages as accurate as any Indian can speak, they have Indian Passports and have embraced the Indian culture just as any honourable Indian would.

Now, after many requests and pleas from the Tribe our Government has obliged and have brought the SAG scheme back on track and currently many potentials are being trained for the 2024 Olympics  but they are still hoping for some light in the Cul-de-sac. They are hoping to be considered as normal humans rather than drug-dealers, hookers or demons. Our notions and ideologies have not changed much since the past 70 years or even since the beginning of Indian civilization. Initially we openly displayed our resentment in public and today we do it on a social media platform; initially  most of us considered inter-caste marriages a catastrophe and today we still practise Honour Killing. What has changed? Technology? Economy? Government? What about us? When are we actually going to be independent and allow others be independent? Are we still going to break every brick that has the impending quality to be a bridge between what we are and what we think we are? Today I discussed about a community that is hidden in the forests of Maharasthra, Karnataka and Andra Pradesh because they are derided and detested by us; all they wish is to come out and co-exist with us as fellow citizens. We call them Africans, but the current Siddhi Generation don’t know much about their own traditional culture because they have encompassed ours and yet we call them outsiders. Have you imagined being called an outsider in your own country? Well, I have and it made me feel so helpless cause today when I closed my eyes and thought about our tri-coloured flag all I felt was respect and gratitude for my country and its people; it would break me if my country-people say- Stay back outsider you don’t belong here.

References:

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/pm-narendra-modis-speech-on-independence-day-2016-here-is-the-full-text/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD7sp-L9lUk

Picture Credits:

Google