DRAFT BROUCHER FOR SABKADESH- HAMARADESH CAMPAIGN
Seven decades ago India started a journey as a free nation, imbued with the dream that political freedom would transform the lives of every Indian. The colonial rulers left behind a country considered by many as the poorest and the most backward in the world. Our founding fathers gave us a constitution that valued Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. We have many things to be proud of today. The foremost is our resolve as Indians, to respect differences amongst us. The people of India have repeatedly rejected attempts to divide us on lines of religion, caste, language and ethnicity. It is no small achievement. India is the most diverse nation but has embraced and found a place for everybody, irrespective of their origins. What is India today is a beautiful tapestry of all that different peoples from diverse origins have contributed. Our food, our clothes, our buildings, our songs, our poetry, our books are testimony to the shared heritage of Indians. We speak different languages; some of us pray in different places of worship, our food and our customs and our dresses are different. But we are all proud to be Indians because we have built this great country with the love and solidarity of common people. We are proud also of the changes that our workers and our peasants, scientists and artisans, women and main, brought about, so that we could claim that we are no more the poorest, the most backward nation in the country.
But seven decades after India broke its chains of colonial rule, can we claim that the dream of an India imbued with the principles of Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity has been fully realised? Justice continues to be denied to the poorest, the socially deprived, to women, to workers and peasants. A small elite has prospered, and are today prepared to sell our country’s wealth and dignity to foreign masters, India has never seen so much of prosperity in a small section, but neither has so many Indians been forced to sleep hungry. We are free as a nation, yet we have been unable to secure freedom for a majority of our people from hunger, ignorance, and unemployment. Liberty is denied to brave women and men who speak out against injustice heaped by a small minority of the elite on the majority of the population. There are repeated attempts to break the unity of the people and tear apart the value of fraternity. The poor, the socially under privileged, women, all find themselves at the margins of society fighting constantly to lead a life of dignity.
Never have our rulers been so eager to mortgage national interest to foreign powers and foreign companies. They propose a new type of development which will bring prosperity to India. We are told that the collaboration of the local corporate with the rich multinationals of other countries will also benefit some day the poor. But this type of development continues to loot our resources, damage our environment and sending the locals out of development as developmental refugees.
This great country needs a different kind of nationalism -- a nationalism that values all people and their customs; a nationalism that privileges the poor and the working people over the rich and the elite, a nationalism that raises its voice against all forms of injustice. People across this great country are demanding democracy that is truly participatory. The working people are getting ready to organise and demand development that starts from those who need it most, not from those who have captured our land, our water, and our forests.
The Peoples Science Movement believes that the people of this country have waited long enough. We are launching a one year journey to ignite again the spirit of 1947, to send out the message that a people united will never be defeated. To also send out the message that we, common Indians, have in the past always rejected attempts to divide. The year long programme is a celebration of India’s shared heritage and diversity, and a celebration of all voices that value dignity, justice for all.
Through plays, and songs, and exhibitions and films, the PSM will seek to go to every corner of the country to spread the message of peace, self reliant development, and dignity for all. We invite all Indians who believe that this great nation deserves better, to join us.
Seven decades ago India started a journey as a free nation, imbued with the dream that political freedom would transform the lives of every Indian. The colonial rulers left behind a country considered by many as the poorest and the most backward in the world. Our founding fathers gave us a constitution that valued Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. We have many things to be proud of today. The foremost is our resolve as Indians, to respect differences amongst us. The people of India have repeatedly rejected attempts to divide us on lines of religion, caste, language and ethnicity. It is no small achievement. India is the most diverse nation but has embraced and found a place for everybody, irrespective of their origins. What is India today is a beautiful tapestry of all that different peoples from diverse origins have contributed. Our food, our clothes, our buildings, our songs, our poetry, our books are testimony to the shared heritage of Indians. We speak different languages; some of us pray in different places of worship, our food and our customs and our dresses are different. But we are all proud to be Indians because we have built this great country with the love and solidarity of common people. We are proud also of the changes that our workers and our peasants, scientists and artisans, women and main, brought about, so that we could claim that we are no more the poorest, the most backward nation in the country.
But seven decades after India broke its chains of colonial rule, can we claim that the dream of an India imbued with the principles of Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity has been fully realised? Justice continues to be denied to the poorest, the socially deprived, to women, to workers and peasants. A small elite has prospered, and are today prepared to sell our country’s wealth and dignity to foreign masters, India has never seen so much of prosperity in a small section, but neither has so many Indians been forced to sleep hungry. We are free as a nation, yet we have been unable to secure freedom for a majority of our people from hunger, ignorance, and unemployment. Liberty is denied to brave women and men who speak out against injustice heaped by a small minority of the elite on the majority of the population. There are repeated attempts to break the unity of the people and tear apart the value of fraternity. The poor, the socially under privileged, women, all find themselves at the margins of society fighting constantly to lead a life of dignity.
Never have our rulers been so eager to mortgage national interest to foreign powers and foreign companies. They propose a new type of development which will bring prosperity to India. We are told that the collaboration of the local corporate with the rich multinationals of other countries will also benefit some day the poor. But this type of development continues to loot our resources, damage our environment and sending the locals out of development as developmental refugees.
This great country needs a different kind of nationalism -- a nationalism that values all people and their customs; a nationalism that privileges the poor and the working people over the rich and the elite, a nationalism that raises its voice against all forms of injustice. People across this great country are demanding democracy that is truly participatory. The working people are getting ready to organise and demand development that starts from those who need it most, not from those who have captured our land, our water, and our forests.
The Peoples Science Movement believes that the people of this country have waited long enough. We are launching a one year journey to ignite again the spirit of 1947, to send out the message that a people united will never be defeated. To also send out the message that we, common Indians, have in the past always rejected attempts to divide. The year long programme is a celebration of India’s shared heritage and diversity, and a celebration of all voices that value dignity, justice for all.
Through plays, and songs, and exhibitions and films, the PSM will seek to go to every corner of the country to spread the message of peace, self reliant development, and dignity for all. We invite all Indians who believe that this great nation deserves better, to join us.
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