Flag musings

We celebrate 62 years of Independence as a nation today. 62 years since the British formally handed over control of India, and (almost all) got onto their ships and left.

From childhood when I heard the word "August 15th" I would immediately think of the national flag - our tri-colour with the 24 spoked wheel of Ashoka in the centre.

We are a nation which uses its flag somewhat sparingly. A stringent flag law has in the past meant that only on the most public of occasions. For most of us it was the small flag hoistings on the mornings of Independence day and its patriotic twin - Republic day when we celebrate the founding of the constitutional Republic that our nation became on the 26th of January 1950. It has only been in the last decade, after a high profile court case by a young industrialist which gave official sanction for common citizens to use the national flag.

Contrast this to two countries which where I have spent some time and which are awash in flags. One doesn't exist anymore. The 'German Democratic Republic' has slipped, largely unlamented, into the shadows of history. Its shabby buildings were festooned with the red, black and gold tricolour on which was affixed the hammer and protractor and wheat of the Marxist party. As a boy, visiting my grandparents who lived there - not allowed by their socialist utopia to leave the country - I was always struck by how much the flag was waved.

The other nation of flag wavers is of course that colossus of a nation - the United States of America. My first college - marooned in the middle of the flat midwestern corn-fields - had the head-quarters of a medium sized corporate opposite its main gate. The owners of this company had chosen to erect a gigantic flag pole - towering at least 4 floors up into the sky from which a flag the size of a sail from by-gone men-of-wars flapped. I was soon to realize that the venerable stars and stripes would be draped on what seemed any and everything - from ice-cream bars to car dealerships (for some reason especially there) as well anything remotely saleable. In addition, the national flag was displayed prominently in most churches (along with something called the 'Christian Flag' - which conveniently had the same red-blue-white colour scheme). And then there were the innumerable applications small and large on articles of clothing, jewelry, and various belongings. In short a flag-saturated place.

This mornings' celebration was a melancholy one. A few folks gathered in our housing complex around a flag pole where the tri-colour was unfurled. A few patriotic songs, a speech or two. The national anthem sung by a few voices. Looking at the rag-tag gathering dispersing - many wearing the hankerchiefs that are de riguer in our swine-flu season - it seems hardly possible that during the British Raj people died in police firings when nationalists defiantly unfurled the flag.

The price of freedom is perhaps seen in the apathy of the next generation(s). Our comforts and freedoms are usually forgetful of the valour and sacrifices of those who have gone before.

As we lurch towards what is likely to be a massive national famine, we seem to have only few things to celebrate as a country. One of them, however, is the news that last year more baby girls were born than boys in Delhi state. Millions of girls are selectively aborted in our country before birth, thanks to the ability to detect gender before birth and the strong desire that so many have to have a son. Some of the worst gender ratios are in fact recorded in the richest states of India - Punjab and Haryana - which is why the fact that last calendar year Delhi recorded 1004 girls born to every 1000 boys is so encouraging. It is now illegal to find out the gender of a child before birth - but despite a law banning medical practitioners from sharing this information - there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that it still happens. Laws do have their effects though - even if imperfectly executed - as the data on births in Delhi seems to show. The odds are still stacked against the girls who are being born - the 2008 birth cohort (which the news celebrates) will continue to face many challenges as these girls grow up into womanhood.

How does one symbolize a billion plus people? Flags may have their limitations - the nation-state may be a recent invention - patriotism may be the last refuge for scoundrels according to some, but considering things, our tricolour has done a pretty good job.

This melancholy day, as another raft of clouds flies high above us without dropping rain, and as the schools in the 16 million plus greater Mumbai area remain closed due to fears of flu, my thoughts and prayers go out to our nation of India. The Bible tells us that we are to pray for our rulers and those in authority. How often do I really do this? I am so grateful for the freedoms that we enjoy - the largely free press - the 15 successive national elections which have seen many peaceful transfers of power between different parties - the rule of law and the rise of industry and commerce. I am grateful to God for melding such a vast expanse of peoples into one national governance and stand amazed at the very fact that we continue to function as a nation - despite generations of nay-sayers. Now for us to live up to the God-given potential that we are blessed so richly with. To see justice and righteousness flows like rivers. To see every citizen live out their life in a rich and harmonious way.

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P.S. We Eichers celebrate Independence day with great pomp and circumstance for another very good reason - today is Stefan (of Reflection Art fame and now 'Stefan Uncle' to the Thane Eichers)'s birthday! Below the card that Asha and Enoch made (part of a tryptich to welcome Mum and Dad to our home as they arrived here this morning at 4 AM):