Patriotism is not for fashion statement

My car stops at traffic signal waiting for the signal to go green. A young girl barely ten knocks at the glass of the window, brushing her cheeks against it, flashing plastic tri-colour flags and some Independence Day metal badges made in China. I smile at her nodding my head, refusing to buy anything. Surprised by rejection, she leaves in a hurry to catch up with other prospective clients who seem more than glad to buy those souvenirs as mark of their patriotic fervour. I cringe at what I foresee happening to those very flags once the celebration mood for the Independence Day wears off! The flags would be found strewn all over road or dustbins. Barely anyone would even give them second look as their purpose would have already been served.    

Eons ago, before the age of apps, memes and vain selfies, one of the ways to show one's patriotic fervour was to be a proud owner of a tiny, tri-colour Indian flag in paper and wear it on one's school uniform like a badge of honour and once Independence Day/ The Republic Day celebrations were over, save it for weeks and sometimes months, carefully hidden from anybody's reach in some secret corner. I can still remember that feeling of immense pride in owning and wearing that tiny flag with the pin, on my school uniform. 

With changing times and crazy pace with which technology and messenger apps are exploding, the need to flaunt one's patriotism has become too much to deal with. If you use WhatsApp, you would have already received at least a dozen requests to keep Indian flag as your display picture and prove you are a "true Indian". You would also have been asked to spread the message to as many "Indians" as possible to show how united we are! Whether it is facebook, WhatsApp, or any other networking site, one finds sudden surge in messages that reflect love/pride for Nation. No harm in doing it really. But why does love/pride for Nation need to be restricted to such tokenism? We as nation are cacophony of many a roars. How many of us really own up to our country and feel truly proud of it or make an attempt to be worthy of its greatness?  

There is no need to shout "I love my India" at top of our voice. There are so many ways to prove it. A small gesture like educating a few underprivileged children, respecting and honouring law and order, not shying away from paying taxes or being of some use to the society/Nation instead of always complaining about the "failures" of our government/system, are a few gestures that can prove our heart beats for our country.  Nations can't be created overnight. It needs participation of its people who are aware and willing to learn to live with fatigue of supporting it. If we, as citizens are devoted to our Nation, it should reflect in our intrinsic values and translated into fulfilling our responsibilities and duties with pride. 

Patriotism is not about high decibel rhetoric, it is about walking our talk. It is high time we let our actions speak louder than words for a change. Jai Hind!