Many institutions went beyond mere flag hoisting to mark 75 years of India’s Independence.
A school organised a history class to reinforce the message of unity and an organisation distributed meals to ensure a day’s “freedom” from hunger.
Some such programmes
Unity in diversity
Students of a city school celebrated Independence Day by going back to the pages of history from 1905 when Hindus and Muslims together protested the partition of Bengal by tying rakhis on each other.
The students at Indus Valley World School took a pledge on Monday to “unite all communities of India...with a garland of love.”
The objective of their programme was to “demonstrate the unbreakable bond of unity” among Indians, something which needs to be upheld now more than ever before, said the head of the institution.
“Though Rakhi Bandhan was observed more than a century ago, the message of unity amongst the people of India is still relevant,” said Amita Prasad, director of the school.
In the book Indian National Movement, Nemai Sadhan Bose wrote: “The date of partition, October 16, 1905, was observed in the suggestion of Rabindranath, as the Rakhi Bandhan Day. The observance signified ‘the indissoluble brotherhood between East Bengal and West Bengal men, between rich and low, between Christians, Mohamedans and Hindus born of the soil’...”
Addressing the students on Monday, historian Sugata Bose said that the first partition of Bengal was rescinded but unfortunately in 1947, “our country got divided again and that partition was accompanied by a colossal human tragedy”.
He ended his speech by asking students to take a pledge: “...on this 75th anniversary of India’s Independence, let us pledge to unite all of the communities of India and the entire world, bind them together with a garland of love.”
Graffiti on a wall of the Sunderbans school
We exist
In a hospital in the city, many have been cured but have nowhere to go to. The reason: Their families will not take them back because they were admitted to the hospital with mental health problems.
On Monday, the residents of Kolkata Pavlov Hospital, young and old, celebrated Independence Day with music, dance and food.
“Some of the residents know that they will never be taken back. Their families simply do not want to take them back or fill up wrong addresses so that they cannot be reached,” said Ananya Chatterjee Chakraborti, an adviser to the hospital.
“We wanted to do something that would cheer them up and make them feel that they too matter,” she said. Early in the morning, the residents came out in clean clothes, ready for the flag hoisting and singing the National Anthem.
“They looked happy and they had something to look forward to,” said an organiser. Their demands are small, but many cannot even voice them, it remains buried. It is as small as wanting mangoes in summer or to eat a plate of noodles.
Freedom from hunger
In the run-up to Independence Day, an organisation reached out to the hungry with meals because thousands are still impoverished, even 75 years after independence, they said.
The initiative, Bhookh se Azaadi, by IHA Foundation has provided meals to 75,000 people.
They have also provided ration to more than 7,500 families and served 750 children residing on the streets with milk and fruits.
“Though we are talking about freedom, for many in our country, the basic need for food remains unfulfilled. We reached out to them,” said the foundation’s chief, Satnam Singh Ahluwalia.
Satnam Singh Ahluwalia of the IHA serves food
The foundation aims to create a network of people who can look after their neighbours. They have done a door-todoor campaign in city neighbourhoods and asked people to see that the person to their immediate left or right does not go hungry.
“We have told them that if possible, they could provide them food. If they cannot afford to, they can call us and we would support them. We have to do this collectively,” said Ahluwalia.
Freedom struggle
Students of a school in the Sunderbans used the walls of their school to tell stories of the freedom struggle.
Boys and girls of classes IX to XII of Kanaknagar SD Institution in Hingalganj drew images of the Dandi March and freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh.
“The students have transformed the walls. We believe while they are drawing they are also learning. We did not want to keep it restricted to a song and dance programme,” said headmaster Pulak Roychowdhury.