Mumbai, Aug 15 (IANS) The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) on Saturday said that India’s Independence Day was celebrated as usual, but over the past decade, the nation’s national day has increasingly taken on a political and festive tone — almost as if it were an event belonging to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or the Sangh Parivar.
The Thackeray camp in the party mouthpiece Saamana said that as Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes the stage at the Red Fort, his choice of traditional turbans and attire appears calculated based on upcoming state elections.
Even on Independence Day, political gains and losses seem to drive government actions, with the BJP-sponsored initiatives executed to mark the occasion.
“Leading up to the celebrations, the party conducted the widespread ‘Tiranga Yatra’ initiative with extensive publicity. The grandly organised rallies aimed to portray the ruling party as the primary creators and protectors of the Indian tricolour, presenting the spectacle as though the national flag were being unfurled in India for the very first time,” said the editorial.
Saamana pointed out a stark contrast between current political campaigns and historical realities.
During the morning processions (prabhat pheris) and satyagrahas held before 1947, the BJP’s parent organisation was absent from the freedom struggle. Organisations that historically demonstrated little affection for the national flag have suddenly embraced it, the Uddhav Sena mouthpiece said.
Through simultaneous campaigns like the ‘Tiranga Yatra’ and ‘Har Ghar Tiranga,’ the ruling party’s version of nationalism has been on full display. Opponents argue that the party is leveraging the emotional atmosphere of Independence Day to reap political benefits and project an image of patriotism, claimed the editorial.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena said that with the BJP turning Independence Day, the national flag, and ‘Vande Mataram’ into large-scale public relations events, questions remain regarding the timing and intensity of these campaigns.
Figures leading today’s rallies did not participate in the independence movement, face baton charges, or shed blood for the cause. The national flag was famously not hoisted at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s headquarters in Nagpur for years after Independence despite public criticisms.
“Rallies featured giant banners and massive flags, including a 700-foot tricolour paraded through Nagpur,” it remarked.
The editorial stated that thousands of freedom fighters had gone to the gallows holding the tricolour and singing ‘Vande Mataram’ while modern-day advocates remained silent.
The Thackeray camp argued that the sudden rush to stage nationalistic spectacles comes at a time when political pressures are mounting. Ongoing protests at locations like Jantar Mantar and political challenges across the country have put the ruling party on the defensive.
“In 2014, supporters proclaimed the Narendra Modi government’s arrival as the true dawn of Indian Independence. Today, facing shifting public sentiment, those who once viewed the flag as an official formality now spend substantial funds on cutouts, rallies, and countrywide events to bolster their public standing,” it said.
–IANS
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