Editorial:-
Everesters, World War II veterans, diligent government servants, dignified entrepreneurs and farmers who impress with their perseverance; such Sikkimese were feted at the Republic Day celebrations held at Paljor Stadium on Sunday. They received felicitations ranging from Sikkim Ratnas to Sikkim Sammans to letters of appreciation and each one, apart from their individual success, has, at some time or the other, made Sikkim proud with displays of earnest commitment to their respective fields. The celebration of their successes and the State’s expression of gratitude for their integrity to their respective professions should have attracted a larger audience and much louder and spontaneous applause. They were felicitated from the hands of the State’s first citizen, but the Paljor Stadium, save the expected presence of VIPs, was rather thinly attended.
One could argue that events like Republic and Independence Days have lost their appeal among the people as much due to more options for entertainment as due to the general apathy among the people with the ‘system’ and thus its events as well. Some decades ago, watching the televised broadcast of Republic Day parade in New Delhi used to be an entire neighbourhood experience. Most families switch channels when the parade comes on TV nowadays. People did not watch the broadcasts earlier only because it was the only entertainment on air at the time, but more so because the event displayed the pride of being Indians. That pride has been taking a beating for a while and citizens are disturbingly fluctuating between disinterest and suspicion in their responses to such triggers. What the people lose in such a scenario is the spontaneity which makes them the common people. This spontaneity has been noticeably missing from Sikkim for a while now. This cannot be healthy because when spontaneity is lost, stage-managed tamashas take their place and claim the public domain. People then grow even more distant from their shared situations, holding their silence as much in times which require a condemnation as on occasions which need to be cheered.
Everesters, World War II veterans, diligent government servants, dignified entrepreneurs and farmers who impress with their perseverance; such Sikkimese were feted at the Republic Day celebrations held at Paljor Stadium on Sunday. They received felicitations ranging from Sikkim Ratnas to Sikkim Sammans to letters of appreciation and each one, apart from their individual success, has, at some time or the other, made Sikkim proud with displays of earnest commitment to their respective fields. The celebration of their successes and the State’s expression of gratitude for their integrity to their respective professions should have attracted a larger audience and much louder and spontaneous applause. They were felicitated from the hands of the State’s first citizen, but the Paljor Stadium, save the expected presence of VIPs, was rather thinly attended.
One could argue that events like Republic and Independence Days have lost their appeal among the people as much due to more options for entertainment as due to the general apathy among the people with the ‘system’ and thus its events as well. Some decades ago, watching the televised broadcast of Republic Day parade in New Delhi used to be an entire neighbourhood experience. Most families switch channels when the parade comes on TV nowadays. People did not watch the broadcasts earlier only because it was the only entertainment on air at the time, but more so because the event displayed the pride of being Indians. That pride has been taking a beating for a while and citizens are disturbingly fluctuating between disinterest and suspicion in their responses to such triggers. What the people lose in such a scenario is the spontaneity which makes them the common people. This spontaneity has been noticeably missing from Sikkim for a while now. This cannot be healthy because when spontaneity is lost, stage-managed tamashas take their place and claim the public domain. People then grow even more distant from their shared situations, holding their silence as much in times which require a condemnation as on occasions which need to be cheered.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Readers are invited to comment on, criticise, run down, even appreciate if they like something in this blog. Comments carrying abusive/ indecorous language and personal attacks, except when against the people working on this blog, will be deleted. It will be exciting for all to enjoy some earnest debates on this blog...