Brown-The new white

Sixty years ago, great men and women fought for the independence we enjoy today. It was as much a fight against slavery and injustice, as it was a struggle for preservation. Ours was a land rich in intricate customs and beliefs; that dictated how we lived and interacted. Till the British arrived and disturbed the balance. High tea and scones replaced lassi and parathas. Polo substituted kabbadi. And fitted trousers booted out the loose folds of dhotis. 60 years after we attained freedom from this suppression, it seems ironic that the benchmark of our progress lies in our acceptance of the very same western concepts.

But yes Pandit Nehru, we did awake to a life of freedom. And six decades after you made that rousing speech, we’ve managed to keep our tryst with destiny. Albeit in a slightly different way.

On the face of it, we’re a third-world country, rising to the ranks of a developing nation. But look closer and the evidence of a silent global take-over surface. It’s the people of Britain wiping their tears this time around. With every spicy bite of their national dish- chicken tikka masala! Our ability to multiply has also worked to our advantage. One in every five Britons is brown, not white (raising the probability of the 6th being caramel). Yoga has finally managed to make the west bow down to us. Bindis and Henna have branded their women (and quite a few of their men as well). Indipop literally makes them dance to our tunes. Call centers have contributed to the dramatic drop in their household income (if rice boats and lake palaces haven’t worked their charm already). And young technology prodigies from South India control the superpower that is America.

It’s an India that the freedom fighters would have loved to see: Non-violent in her approach but clear in her purpose. Powered by a generation that might not display the same degree of patriotism, but nevertheless feels a great sense of promise in the future of the nation. A generation that takes globalization as seriously as Indian-ness. A generation of leaders in their own right, who approach independence as an opportunity to shine rather than a mere escape from tyranny.

To live in India in her 60th year of independence, is to live in exciting times. Our nation is far from old and spent. She is a country in her prime. On the cusp of something big. And it’s the global interest in India that makes this even more apparent. ‘Indian’ is ‘in’. From fashion and food to technology and spirituality. We’re no longer a land of snake charmers and elephants. We’re the nation that astronauts and steel tycoons come from. A nation that gives the world thinkers and innovators. And when the rest least expect it: great writers and unimaginably gifted sportsmen.

When we wake up on the 15th of August this year and watch our flag being hoisted, we will know that it’s not a gentle breeze that makes our tricolour flutter. It’s the winds of change.