The Republic Day A Reminder to Our Moral Obligations

-- Sarah Mohammed, IIK Young Contributor

Wednesday, January 17, 2024

We,the Indians, are all set to celebrate our 75th Republic Day on the 26th January 2024. It is a day that our esteemed Constitution came into force back in the year 1950. Our Constitution stands as an unfettered symbol for our sovereignty, autonomy, and above all, as our own identity in the world.

As we all know, there is a long history behind our Constitution. A history filled with struggle, patience, sacrifice, courage, dedication and patriotism. The list of virtues that our forefathers, from all walks of life and from generations to generations, exhibited to gain independence for our country and then to take our Country as a single unit to a ‘Sovereign Republic’ form is innumerable and matchless.

Thus, definitely, the Republic Day is a prodigious day for all the Indians and a day worth to be distinguished to honor our Country, our Constitution, our freedom fighters and intellects that molded our Constitution. Whilst, it is a day to be celebrated with joy and passion, it is also a day that remind us strongly to our own obligations to our Country. Our forefathers have given us an independent and supreme Motherland with a brilliant Constitution to govern our Motherland in a wonderful manner, and now, it is in our hands rest the future of our Country. It is our obligation to elevate higher and higher, the reputation and respect for our nation in the world.

Our obligations to our Country are broadly encompassed within our Constitution under eleven ‘Fundamental Duties’ which every citizen is expected to perform without failure. Fundamental duties provided in our Constitution is significant because it serves as a reminder to all the citizens of India of their duty towards their society and the County at large. It also serves as inspiration to nationalism, discipline and commitment. Briefly, the principles reflected within the said ‘Fundamental Duties’, in a nut shell, are, to abide by and respect the Constitution, National Flag & National Anthem; cherish the ideals in our freedom struggle; stand for the sovereignty, unity and integrity of our Country; defend our Country and provide national services when required; promote harmony; value our rich heritage; protect our environment; develop a scientific temper; safeguard public property and reject violence, and; to help our nation rise to higher levels of achievement.

In addition to the Fundamental Duties as aforesaid, we also have certain ‘Moral Obligations’ towards our country. In this Article we will briefly go through two key Moral Obligations, which I considers as very important for our Country.

1. Support & Develop our Societies:

The responsibility to support and advance the societies in our Country is not the responsibility of the government alone. We, as the citizens, have very strong moral obligation in this respect. A Country’s excellence is its people and the surroundings. So, we all should consider it as a pivotal individual responsibility to support the societies in the best manner possible.

By way of an example, if the professionals among us, such as doctors, engineers, lawyers, teachers, etc. consider to allocate at least few hours of voluntary services in their respective fields to the society on a periodic basis, such as daily or weekly or monthly, aside the services he render for payment, then it could help our societies. The remote villages in India could benefit the most from these voluntary services, and it helps in the advancement of our societies. In this digital world, even the Non Resident Indians can extend their support and services in this manner utilizing the advanced information technologies.

Additionally, it should be also the moral responsibility of the owners of the private institutions, such as hospitals, engineering firms, schools, law firms, etc. to extend their voluntary services to assist our remote villages to bring it to the mainstream.

Our Honorable Prime Minister his Excellency, Mr. Narendra Modi made an illustrious statement “Our constitution is a ray of ‘HOPE’: H for harmony, O for Opportunity, P for people's participation and E for equality.” A prime golden principle emphasized in his quote is ‘people’s participation’ to achieve the purposes embedded in our Constitution. Inspired by his statement, personally, I utilize a part of my annual vacation in India, by providing voluntary services, such as (i) teaching basic defense techniques in the martial art karate, to young children of my age at my neighborhood in India, and (ii) I established a WhatsApp Group with the title ‘Knowledge Club’ through participation of friends of my age from my neighborhood in India. We are utilizing the said WhatsApp Group as a platform for sharing educational e-books, knowledge and information sharing on various topics and for sharing individual views on selective topics. The above initiatives from us may be small but we believe that it is a first step of a long journey we are pursuing.

The thought that ‘Our Country is our identity, and stronger our societies are - stronger our Country will be’ should be the driving force for all of us to abide by this moral obligation.

2. Be an Example to Other Nations

In connection with our jobs, businesses, education, studies and the like, we, the Indians, have a notable presence all over the world. This includes our scientists, doctors, engineers, teachers, etc. We are proud that our professionals and other personnel are of great demand all over the world because of our hardworking nature, dedication and intelligence.

We should always remember that when we are in a foreign country, we are our country’s identity and reflection of our culture in those foreign countries. Our way of lives, such as compliance with the laws of the land, our behaviors, respect to foreign cultures, driving habits, health and food habits, all have a prominent role to play to form an opinion in the hearts of the people of those foreign countries. For example, if our driving habits are bad, it could be generalized as Indians are not good drivers! On the other hand, if our driving habits are good – if we abide and respect the laws of the land, it could be generalized as Indians are good drivers and good people, and our Country’s reputation is upheld.

Therefore, we have a strong moral obligation to behave well in those societies and create a sense of respect to our culture in those foreign countries. We should be a good example so that ultimately, our country gets the credit and respect it deserves.

Personally, I believe that (i) keeping our surroundings clean is one way to pass a strong message to our foreign neighbors. I am practicing it with keen attention by making sure that trash are disposed only at the designated places and my surroundings are kept clean, and (ii) by appropriately dressing and respecting the host country tradition when at the public places.

Let this Republic Day be a reminder to all of us about the Fundamental Duties we owe to our Country and the Moral Obligations we have to observe for our Country – Together we can make our India stronger.