India Today – August 19, 2019

62 INDIA TODAY AUGUST 19, 2019

JOHN ABRAHAM, 46

Actor

HARSHGOENKA, 62

Chairman,RPGEnterprises

JHULANGOSWAMI, 36

FormercaptainofIndian

women’scricketteam

“There is a big difference between

patriotism and nationalism.Ibelieve

a patriot loves his countryresponsibly

whereas a nationalist loveshiscountry

no matter what it does. It’sbetterto

be a patriot than a nationalist.Tobea

patriot, it’s important to beeducated

about the issues in the country.Alot

of us celebrities go overboardusing

powerful social media platformsto

profess our love for the nationwithout

understanding the issues thatreally

affect it. For example, doesanybody

know what Articles 370 or35Aare?

Or know what’s happeninginNaga-

land or Arunachal Pradesh?Doesthe

same article apply there too?Wedon’t
know the facts and detailsandstill

we choose to comment. Ifyouwantto

be a true patriot, understandthatthe
miracle of this country is itsdemocra-

cy. We need to know the historyofthis

country, its geopolitical situationsand

understand what it is goingthrough
and what it is going to go through.

Only then you can say thatyouare

India and India is you.”

“IconsidermyselfluckytobeabletorepresentIndiainany

capacitythatIcan.ThatIcanweartheIndianjerseyisa

big,yethumbling,thingforme.Tome,patriotismmeans

tohonour,respectandliveuptothetrustthetricolourhas

bestoweduponme.Itmeansbeingresponsibleanddedicated

towardstheworkwedoasindividuals.Inthe21stcentury,

patriotismmeansfightingagainstenvironmentalissuesthat

aremakingIndiaandtheworldadifficultplacetolivein.”

“For me, patriotism is

love that supersedes

any individual or vested

interest. It is the impulse

to do the right, some-

times difficult, thing,

for the country in the

face of hardships. In a

way, it is comparable

to a mother’s love—un-

conditional and sacred.

During the pre-Inde-

pendence era, the most

obvious way to express

that love was by fighting

the colonial power, now

we must love our coun-

try and serve it however

we can. Nation first.”

MANDAR DEODHAR

SUBIR HALDER