L.O.V.E.

LOVE FOR COUNTRY

Hey guys! So from hereon you’ll be seeing 3 perspectives of the same topic (psst! gets more convenient for you to read your friend’s section). Hope you like it and don’t forget to comment. Also, here’s wishing everyone a very Happy Independence Day! #ProudToBeIndian

Pritha’s Perspective

“Do not ask what your country has done for you, Ask what you have done for your country”-John .F. Kennedy

There could not be a better day than 15^th August to write about one’s love for country.  Patriotism is the feeling of love and respect for the country. I would like to wish every Indian a very happy independence day! Most of the times love for country is misunderstood as the love towards the territories of the country, whereas it is actually the love towards the people living in the country. It is also the most important factor for a nation’s success because only then the people will work for the development of their country.

15^th august to most of the people is nothing but just another holiday when they can stay at home,  leaving all the tedious work that they do on working days. But only a few people understand that they are able to sleep peacefully only because of the struggle that the freedom  fighters have gone through for hundreds of years; the governments in the past 68 years that have brought our nation to the position where it is right now; and the armed forces that safeguard our country. Showing your love for country is not just confined to one day where you stand for the national anthem in front of the national flag. It gets reflected in the duties you perform for the nation, how you preserve its culture and tradition, and how you respect the unity among the citizens of the nation because no country can grow unless her citizens are united.

Patriotism does not mean humiliating the other nations. Every country is different has its own way with respect to their religions, traditions,  beliefs and the set of rules and laws that govern the citizens and hence respecting other countries’ beliefs is also important. Patriotism and nationalism are also closely related terms but not the same. There is a very thin line that differentiates them both. A patriot loves his nation but also respects the other nations while a nationalist may not do so. He might consider his own nation supreme and dislike other nations and their prosperity. Nationalism is divisive and unproductive and ultimately causes more harm than good to the nation and its people.

The citizens should be dignified by the state that makes them accountable and responsible. Moreover, every citizen should work towards the betterment of their nation considering their duties towards the same.

Mitali’s Madness

What an apt day to write about loving your country. While we all know that you don’t need a specific day to love your country or rather to express love for your country, doing so on your country’s independence day is like the cherry on the cake. Whenever I was told to write about my country, I, like everyone else wrote all the same things-the classics. For example, I used to write about how I am proud of my country and value its rich heritage and culture, or how the beautiful combination of colours that makes our country’s flag shows art and meaning in one place. Simple, yet inspiring, our past shows us what our country is capable of and how powerful she was and still is. But, as much as I like writing things like this, I thought, why not give this same old thought pattern a fresher approach!

Let’s think about it this way- we call our country our motherland, right? So, on your mother’s birthday or on Mother’s Day, don’t we buy nice presents for our mothers? I know I do. We buy jewellery, clothes, perfumes or accessories for our mothers. Why do we do this? It’s rather simple. We do it because we love our mother. We want her to be the best in a party or in a crowd. In our eyes, whatever our mother wears doesn’t affect how much we love her, but still we buy gifts to make her feel special and to make her look beautiful. So, why not do this with our country? Don’t think I’m crazy. All I’m saying is that the way we want our mother to look beautiful and feel appreciated, we need to do the same for our country. It is the place that provides us with the foundation of our entire existence. We need to plant trees, if not to curb our oxygen needs then think of it as a means of beautifying our motherland. Also, some very great people made monuments in this country-those that count as a priceless contribution to this country’s rich heritage. Such monuments need to be preserved, not used to mark your eternal love with a girlfriend/boyfriend with whom you’re probably going to break up in a few months. The government does their part in restoring old monuments, but how do you think that effort will look if some careless citizen spits on those newly restored walls. Our government spends money for things like this, so that when people come to India, they can see her for her glorious past and her bright future. We, as the citizens of this country need to respect our country. And let me clear one concept right now. Respecting your country does not simply mean standing up during the national anthem. It means keeping your country’s integrity intact in every form-be it defence or appearance. I love my country and want to proudly respect it. Happy Independence Day. Do something for your country today that you’ll remember for the rest of your life. Make your presence count.

Vasvi’s Verdict

There are 7.2 billion people that live across the world in one of the 195 countries; with single, dual or multiple citizenships. Everybody does respect their country, anthem, and flag, and there is nothing wrong about it- it is our duty to do so. Everyone is patriotic in their own way; some people show it by enlisting for the army, some by doing social work, and others by bringing good reforms. You should love your country but that does not mean that you disrespect other countries. Love for country or patriotism in general terms is the emotional attachment to a particular nation which we call as our homeland. You can simply call it national pride; there are various aspects that are the core of our attachment to our country like ethnic, cultural, political, historical, society etc. Like any other form of love, love for country is also very complicated. You should love your country, but you should respect the patriotic feeling of other people for their particular country as well, because after all we do coexist as human beings in this world. Whatever we do in our life we are recognized by our roots which eventually comes to our country. If you do something really cool, of course the credit goes to your hard work and other factors but you increase the dignity of your country and it is vice versa if you do something disgraceful it does reflect on your country’s dignity. You should always be proud of your country and if something is really out of hand then try to be the change and if you are not in that position then at least support the ones working for it. Today India has progressed but there are ways in which it can still improve, and I know I cannot bring about the changes alone by just thinking about them but at least I can play my part by electing the right candidate or bringing about awareness in ways I can.

Our country has given us a lot of things. Whatever is not right is not the fault of our country but is the fault of people who have disgraced it. My country, India, has given me a lot of things like diversity in language and creed; rich culture and heritage; right to practise a different religion; freedom of speech and most importantly it has taught me how to coexist. It has also taught me that diversity is what makes it unique, and peace and harmony is the key to a happy future of our country. We all know that everything is not perfect in this world so if there are any flaws in our country then start improvising rather than cribbing. Our country has given us loads so let us do something for her in return (not out of a payback feeling but out of love and respect). If you help an NGO out in educating people or help out the needy it will automatically bring about a social reform and help us in keeping our country beautiful and united. Heritage should be conserved and not scribbled on so we need to spread about some awareness to those who do not have access to it and yeah punish those who are ignorant. Everyone cannot be the same so play your part no matter how small because even the smallest pebble can cause a ripple in water. Love your country and let that love lead you to its betterment because love is meant to change you for the good even when there is no scope for improvement.