I very vividly remember. It was always a fun, half day at school, later, full day off at work. The spirit of freedom used to surge and the growing love for the country knew no bound. Today, when we are giving a call to celebrate, it looks more to be under pressure that we are not labelled with a very often used word, which for the first time was used by Madhav Rao Scindia, if my memory serves my right.

Today, when we are giving a call to celebrate, Republic Day, have we closed our eyes on onslaught of communal forces, forces of polarisation sweeping the country. Our country becoming the chamber of communal hatred and fake news.

If while celebrating Republic Day, we do not raise these issues, we will be doing a dis-service to our country.