The Builders Of The Nation

We just celebrated our 72nd Independence Day. The memories are still fresh. However, a thought lingers, have we started taking Independence Day and the freedom that we enjoy very lightly? It seems so. The spirit of Independence Day does not seem to be what it used to be. Today Independence Day seem to mean more of getting a day off work, lazing a little more, a trip to some restaurant so on and so forth. It is but sad.

Many of us were not born in that era of 15th August 1947; but history stands testimony to "India's Tryst with Destiny", the unfurling of the Tricolor when the clock struck midnight hour on the 15th of August 1947. The joyous festivities that ensued marking the end of an era of great struggle and beginning of a beautiful journey of India’s self discovery and Independence. It was a long arduous journey from then to present day. 

What did we achieve since then?

 Most importantly India is the only nation in the entire world that gave each of its adult citizens the right to vote from the very first day of being an Independent nation. Right after the birth of our nation India executed world's largest merger and acquisition, when 560 small princely states merged into the Indian Union with hardly any blood spilled or bullet fired. The world's longest constitution was written by a Dalit, containing 444 articles in 22 parts, 12 schedules and 118 amendments, with 146,385 words in its English-language version. We were also amongst the very first country to have a woman at the helm of the state. We were one of the only three countries in the world to stand our grounds and refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty on matter of Principle. We went to develop our very own nuclear technology under world boycott. We are the lowest cost producer of Nuclear energy ($1700 per kilowatt). We are the only country that could develop Thorium based nuclear power. We are amongst the five nations to have launched nuclear submarine. We are amongst the first country to develop our own satellite for domestic communication. We also became the world largest producer of milk, butter, sugar, pulses. We went ahead to develop world's third largest railway network. We also became the country in the world to produce largest number of movies annually. Very significant achievements. How did we manage to come so far? Do we ever take the time out, to ponder over how these great feats were achieved? Who were the masterminds behind these great planning that took India to reach such heights? 

With each passing year freedom has indeed started taking different meaning for different people. The new generations seem to have obscure idea about how we reached so far. We seem to have started taking Independence and freedom for granted. We have no time to delve into the past and learn about those persons but for whom we live a life of comfort, dignity and freedom. It is time we dive into the archives and bring out those people who dared to dream and toiled hard to achieve those dreams not for them but for every individual of this country.

Let us take a walk back in time, a time when India was new born fledgling struggling to spread its wings to fly. Let us bring out those faces that envisioned today's India and toiled to lay the foundation amidst all the challenges. Let us dig into the archives and bring them out in the forefront, let this generation Learn about what contribution, sacrifice led to the Global recognition of our country in all spheres, nuclear power, Space Research, Science, Agriculture, Sports, Arts and Entertainment.

DR.HOMI JAHANGIR BHABHA: Born on the 30th of October, 1909, to Jehangir Hormusji Bhabha and Meheren, was the man who pioneered the Indian Nuclear research Programme. Homi Jahangir Bhabha was a Nuclear Physicist who was also a mechanical engineer, was just not a brilliant scientist but a great visionary and an Institution builder, who had great dreams to contribute to India's scientific research upon completion of his studies in Europe. Once he returned back home he set about establishing the Cosmic Ray Research Unit. It was Homi Bhabha who helped formulate India's strategy in the field of Nuclear power and he is with great reverence remembered as "The Father of Indian Nuclear Power".

DR. VIKRAM AMBALAL SARABHAI: Born on the 12th of August 1919 in Ahmedabad, to the Industrialist family of the Sarabhai, who were actively committed to the freedom movement of India. Vikram was an Indian Scientist who studied in Cambridge but after returning to India post Independence he set up the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad. He was also the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. The establishment of the Indian Space research Organization is one of his greatest achievements. Dr. Homi Bhabha supported Dr. Vikram Sarabhai in launching the first rocket launching station in India. Dr. Sarabhai spearheaded the fabrication and launch of an Indian satellite. The first Indian satellite “Aryabhata” was put into the orbit in 1975 from a Russian Cosmodrome as a result of his persistent endeavor.

DR. MS. SWAMINATHAN: Monkombu Sambasivan Swaminathan was born in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu on August 7, 1925.The year India gained independence Swaminathan enrolled in the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) in New Delhi. He studied genetics and plant breeding. MS Swaminathan excelled in cytogenetic, which is a branch of genetics that is concerned with study of chromosomes and cell division. He is known as the "Father of India's Green Revolution" for his endeavor in developing of high yielding varieties of Wheat.

PRASANTA CHANDRA MAHALANOBIS:  Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis was born on 29th of June 1893 in Kolkata. He studied at the Brahmo Boys School in Calcutta and graduated in 1908. He then went to Study at the Presidency College. He received a Bachelor’s degree is Science with honors in Physics in 1912 and went to study at the University of London. In England he was introduced to the Biomertrika journal. He discovered the utility of statistics. After returning to India with the help from Pramathanath Banerjee, Nikhil Ranjan Sen and Sir R. N. Mukherjee established the Indian Statistical Institute. Regarded as “the father of Statistical Science in India" he is best known for- " The Mahalanobis Distance", a measure of comparison between two different data sets. He was responsible for creating the awareness regarding the importance of statistics in socio economic planning and policy formulation.

DHUNDIRAJ GOVIND PHALKE: Popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke, was born in 30th April 1870 in Trimbak.  He was an Indian producer- director- Screenwriter, who is also known as the “Father of Indian Cinema”. His debut movie “Harishchandra” in Marathi was the first Indian feature film released in 1913. During his career of 19 years he made 95 full length feature films and 27 short films. The” Dadasaheb Phalke” award was instituted in his honor by the government of India in 1969 to recognize the lifetime contribution of actor, actresses and filmmakers. It is the most prestigious awards in Indian cinema, which has a made a long journey and today is recognized globally for churning out the most number of films annually.

DHYAN CHAND: Dhyan Chand was born on 29th of August 1905, in Allahabad. He was a legendary Indian Field Hockey player, and is considered the greatest Hockey player in the history of sports. He won three Olympic gold Medals in the year 1928, 1932 and 1936. In 1936 in the Berlin Olympics he earned the title of “Hockey Personality of the Century”.  He scored 109 goals at the Olympics and 300 goals in other International matches that he played, which till date remains an unbroken record. He was awarded the Padma Bhusan and his birth anniversary is celebrated as the “National Sports Day” in India

These were people who made a difference, set the ball rolling towards creating an India that today is a power to reckon with. Recently in a social experiment at an art exhibition done by TATA TISCON , people were shown their portraits and asked to identify, alas most couldn’t recognize. It goes to show that somewhere down the line the great personalities who laid the foundation of this great nation, through their vision, hard work and determination created the platform for our country to take flight and it did take flight, but we have in a way pushed them behind a curtain. Today India is an emerging power that other countries acknowledge. However, all of these great personalities seem to have slowly been obliterated from public consciousness. We should not let this happen, we need to always go back and remain connected to those people who made the difference. We should make an effort to pass on the stories of these wonderful legends to the future generation. To learn and understand how freedom was achieved and how such a vast and diverse country has reached its potential. Every great thing starts from the foundation laid by great personalities, persons with great vision who toiled to set things in the right order for the nation to flourish.

Content Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=DvmUeX6hfDs