Why I Will Not Be Celebrating Independence Day
By Justice Markandey Katju
Former Judge of Indian Supreme Court
Mumbai, India
Tomorrow, 15th August 2025 will be Indian Independence Day.
This will be celebrated all over India as the 79th Independence Day since India became independent on August 15, 1947. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be leading the celebrations from the iconic Red Fort in Delhi. He will unfurl the National Flag and address the nation from the ramparts of the iconic monument. There will be functions in many state capitals in India with Governors unfurling the national flag. Functions and unfurling the flag will also be held in government offices, law courts, educational institutions, etc., and many people will be hoisting the national flag in their private houses.
I regret I cannot join in these celebrations as I regard them gimmicks, tomfoolery, gamboling, hijinks, buffoonery, shenanigan, and rambunctiousness.
In my opinion real independence is independence from poverty, malnutrition, unemployment, lack of proper healthcare and good education, skyrocketing prices of essential commodities, and oppression of minorities, which are still rampant and widespread in India. So, what is there to celebrate about?
Some people claim that India has the fastest growing economy in the world, that our GDP is increasing, etc. However, the truth is in these articles I wrote
https://indicanews.com/2023/07/17/justice-markandey-katju-lies-damned-lies-and-statistics-in-india
https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-the-truth-behind-indias-explosive-gdp-growth
https://indicanews.com/2023/01/25/justice-katju-is-there-anything-to-celebrate-on-republic-day
https://justicekatju.com/two-indias-in-india-b7c53570519b
https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-who-is-reaping-the-fruits-of-indias-gdp-growth-story
How can one celebrate and cheer when half of our children are malnourished, wasted and/or stunted according to Global Hunger Index, and India (which has a population of 1430 million has slipped from position number 101 to 107 in just one year ( 021-2022) among the 121 countries surveyed by that international agency ?
https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/global-hunger-index/#:~:text=India%20ranks%20107th%20out%20of,countries%20covered%20in%20the%20GHI.
How can one celebrate when over 55% of our women are anaemic?
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/education/news/46-of-girls-under-15-anaemic-in-india-report/articleshow/89098690.cms
How can one celebrate when tens of millions of our young men and women are without jobs? 12 million youth are entering the job market in India every year, but less than half a million jobs are being created in the organized sector of our economy. So where do the remaining 11 and a half million go? They end up as hawkers, street vendors, bouncers, stringers, criminals, beggars, or suicides. Many girls become prostitutes.
If 1 class 4 (peon’s) govt jobs is advertised, there are often 1,000 applicants, many of them having MSc, MA or MBA degrees (some even PhD), engineers, etc., all begging for a chaprasi’s job.
How can one celebrate when proper healthcare and good education is almost non-existent for the masses? Private hospitals and clinics are too expensive for the masses, and the condition of the govt ones is terrible (to say the least). Even the All India Institute of Medical Sciences), New Delhi (AIIMS), a premier medical institute in India, looks like a railway station, with thousands of people waiting outside endlessly, and usually with perfunctory care, if any. The same is the condition of Safdarjung Hospital across the road. As a result, poor people often go to quacks, and quackery is rampant in India.
How can one celebrate when prices of essential commodities like food, fuel, medicines, etc. have skyrocketed?
How can one celebrate when atrocities are committed regularly on minorities and dalits?
How can one celebrate when the gap between rich and poor is widening, with a handful of big businessmen becoming richer (often by illegal means) while the poor get poorer (because of escalating prices of food, etc.).
How can one celebrate when one sees our political leaders (of all parties) polarizing the masses, cultivating caste or communal vote banks by spreading hatred, and seeking power and pelf, instead of genuinely caring for the welfare of the people?
Such celebrations remind me of the Roman Emperors who used to say “If you cannot give the people bread, give them circuses ”. Or Queen Marie Antoinette who when told that the people do not have bread, said “Let them eat cake”.
So, Indians, celebrate as much as you like, but don’t expect me to join you in this tomfoolery, buffoonery, clownery, wingding, hoopla, and Mad Hatter’s Party.
(Markandey Katju is an Indian jurist and former judge of the Supreme Court of India who served as chairman of the Press Council of India from 2011 to 2014)
