It's Desh Prem over Desh Bhakti for Gen Z

The thing about Gen-Z millennials in our country, who were born smack in the middle of the end of a century and the beginning of another, is that their idea of India’s Independence is shaped by a farrago of things. From dealing with their grandparents’ incessant tales about the freedom struggle, dull history textbooks and inescapable flag-hoisting ceremonies in school to posting pictures on social media with tricolour filters, the 18-20 year-olds in our country are quite unsure of what they must ‘feel’ on their Independence Day.
Now, before you Gen-X aunties and uncles begin shaking your heads thinking, ‘Kids these days’, we’d like to show you how interesting and refreshing these young Hyderabadis’ perspectives are about Independence Day, patriotism and the tricolor.
Let’s redefine the tricolor, shall we?
The textbook interpretation of the tiranga is not unfamiliar to us Indians — saffron for courage and strength, white for peace and truth, green for prosperity, and the chakra for dharma. But let’s not kid ourselves. There’s probably not one Indian out there who has overlooked the religious connotations of the tiranga. As Sulaiman Khan, 19, puts it, “The colours have a communal significance, albeit unsaid. Saffron symbolises Hindus, green represents the Muslims. That’s the first impression. People usually associate these colours to the said religions. I think it has been ingrained in us and everybody knows what it unofficially implies, like an untold truth.” Heroshini Komali, 20, adds, “Never mind what the text books taught us. It has been injected into us since our childhood that saffron and green represents certain religions. It’s sad.” Unsurprisingly, Gen Z of our country wants nothing to do with these communal labels. “colours have no religion — we’re dividing ourselves by attaching communal connotations to our flag,” says 20-year-old Shreya Dubey. Meanwhile, Serena Mehra, 18, points out that our flag must be a testament to our unity in diversity. “When I look at the flag, I see how diverse the country is and how we’re all thriving together despite our differences in terms of caste, religion and cultures. So I think that’s what the tricolor should mean to people,” she says.
These young adults hope for a redefinition of the meanings attached to the tricolor. When asked what they think each colour must symbolise, we got some vibrant answers: “I think green should represent nature — the earth is everyone's and we’re united by that. We’ve caused destruction to nature and our flag should remind us that we have a responsibility to make our nation green again,” says Shreya. Komali, says, “saffron should signify all the strides we made as a nation over the centuries. from our ancient monuments to our new age technology, roads, infrastructure, saffron should stand for the collective human endeavour that has resulted in progress.” Serena, on the other hand, opines that we must stop associating the colour white with peace. “I think white should represent energy – electricity, solar energy, wind energy and other renewable sources of energy. Energy is something that all of us need and it’s about time we focussed on clean energy.”
Who would’ve thought?
We don’t need to hate the ‘enemy’ to prove our love for India “A famous comedian once said, ‘you do not really love India, you just hate Pakistan’,” says Sujauddin Darbar, 20, whose mother hails from Pakistan. “Though I’m half-Pakistani, I love India as much as any other Indian. But you should not love something so much that you start hating other things. And I feel that a lot of Indians are patriotic only when it comes to Pakistan bashing. It’s disheartening that, often our patriotism is expressed only through hatred for our ‘enemy’. This hate has to end,” he says.
Some of them even expressed concern about the rising “hyper-nationalism” in the country. Akshat Thonangi, 20, notes, “There are some people out there who take nationalism to a dangerous extent and that brings out a lot of violence. Ideally, we should all aspire to a world that is more like a global village rather than just nations competing with each other endlessly.” It’s important to make everyone feel part of the nation instead of just asking them to respect the national flag, opines Sulaiman. “We can’t unite Indians by asking them to just hold and respect our flag or our anthem. First of all, we should all feel integrated. Respecting the flag should be a natural consequence of that integration,” he says.
Gen-Z thinks that patriotism is something that binds an individual to his/her country and that it should remain between the individual and the nation. They believe that while our diversity is an asset, we must not discriminate one another based on it. And finally, they proudly proclaim that they don’t need to hate another country to love India — “we love it because we love it”. What a wonderful thing to hear on India’s 72nd Independence Day!
Why can’t we make the tiranga a part of our everyday lives?
If forced patriotism is one extreme, lack of pride in the nation and your nationality is another extreme, say the youngsters. “People in the US or the UK carry their flags around with pride. they even hoist their flags outside their houses. They’re proud of their Union Jack; their stars and stripes. We Indians, on the other hand, treat patriotism as a ritual — something to be observed on August 15 and January 26, and then be forgotten. Why shouldn’t the tiranga be part of our everyday lives? Why are we forever stuck with rules and regulations of ‘how tos’ and ‘when tos’. Unless we make the colours of our flag something every Indian wants to wear with pride, every day, patriotism will not become something that comes from within. No matter how hard you try to impose rules on people, they won’t be proud Indians,” says Komali. Serena agrees, saying, “When you go for a movie and they make you stand for the national anthem, it’s not August 15, it’s a normal day. And people feel awkward standing up for the anthem on a ‘normal day’. I think that’s the essential problem. We shouldn’t need flags or songs to remind us that we’re part of this proud and diverse nation. Sujauddin, says, “Back in school, it was a tradition to hoist the flag with the staff members, faculty and the students. Most of the colleges don’t have that anymore. And that’s kind of sad.” Sadder still is that fact that patriotism is just a fleeting feeling that happens once a year, says Serena. “The moment we salute the flag and listen to the national anthem, we get immersed in patriotism. Only, I don’t know what happens to that patriotic feeling the very next day. That should change. Patriotism should be internalised.”