Thoughts on Martyrs' Day 2025

During these troubled times, we gradually witness the erosion of human values; the erasing from our memory the sacrifice of those who laid down their lives to give us freedom.

It’s sad that many of us begin to change our perceptions of lives.

We are ready to find fault in those who have gone ahead of us.

Aashray Abhiyan's Martyrs' day celebration with the vendors and slum communities in Patna

Yet we don’t stop to think of what we have gained over the years; under what circumstances did we achieve what we have enjoyed and maybe is on the last leg of this freedom.

While the so called educated community do not know our history, it’s those who live on the periphery who are familiar with our roots.

It raises our hearts up in pride when our women from our settlements sang a very emotional song; with the lyrics leading to the bullets on that fateful day when Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was assassinated on 30 January 1948 at age 78 in the compound of Birla House (now Gandhi Smriti), a large mansion in central New Delhi. In the words of India’s first Prime Minister of free India, ‘the Light has gone out”.

Today we grapple in darkness looking for that Light; that charisma; that nonviolent tool that can save this our beloved country from the clutches of hatred and violence to a more humane living.

Where love, Truth and non violence is the rich heritage we have imbibed from the father of our Great Nation.