Redefining
The Patriot
Today is August 13 or rather Patriot’s day and even as the Manipuri people spread across the globe gather together to pay respect to Bir Tikendrajit and General Thangal for their heroic resistance against the invading British force, we need to ask ourselves who is a Patriot.
While patriotism can be somewhat simply explained as the love for one’s country and people, the question, who is a Patriot, is not so simple. While there can be no disputing the point that Paona Brajabashi, General Thangal and Bir Tikendrajit have earned themselves a place in the history of Manipur and their names will be forever remembered as Patriots who laid down their lives for the sake of the land, it is becoming extremely blurred now to say who is a Patriot and who is not.
With passage of time and with the changing equations the world over; the answer to the question who is a Patriot is increasingly becoming complicated. If warriors who laid down their lives in protecting the land from foreign incursion during the days of expansionism are called Patriots then can we today say that an industrialist who provides employment and help in developing the land of his birth is a Patriot?
And moreover who exactly decides who is a Patriot or traitor?
As the history of mankind teach us, today’s villain or traitor may turn out to be tomorrow’s hero or Patriot. Joan of Arc who was burnt to death on a stake is today a heroine of the highest stature and if Hitler was at one time perceived to be the savior of the German people, who would avenge the humiliation of the Treaty of Versailles, today the German Government keeps a safe distance from anything remotely connected to Nazism.
We refer to these examples for we feel it is time a debate is initiated on who is exactly a Patriot and who decides who should be anointed with the oil of patriotism.
The world and yes Manipur too have changed since the days of Bir Tikendrajit and General Thangal and while the definition of patriotism remains the same, the parameters that constitute a Patriot may have changed perceptibly over the years. Today it is no longer war or laying down one’s life that may be taken as the sole criteria for bestowing the halo of patriotism on anyone.
Yes, human conflict will continue and those who lay down their lives at the battle field will continue to be regarded as patriots who gave their today for our tomorrow, but what we would like to highlight is that it is not only sacrificing one’s life or taking up the gun for one’s country that should be taken as the sole criteria for judging whether one loves one’s country or not.
Patriotism in its real essence means the love for one’s land and country and to demonstrate this one need not necessarily take up with the bigger agenda of the welfare of the people as a whole can also be taken as an act of patriotism. Doing one’s duty diligently and faithfully is surely a very patriotic act and as long this dictum runs then it will mean the overall development and progress of a people. And when someone contributes his mite, which has a positive impact on the society as a whole, then that individual will merit the tag of a patriot.
Let’s move away from the conventional definition of a Patriot for we feel that we need to understand the meaning of a Patriot on bigger canvas, especially in the situation the State is in. We would also like to add that patriotism is not the sole prerogative of anyone or any organization but is the obligation of all the Manipuri people.
(Courtesy: The
Sangai Express)
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