IN FOCUS

people were to attend, even riding on the rooftops of buses and trains just to get there. Similarly, I attended a rally in Phoolpur (Azamgarh) where I heard Subhas Chandra Bose (1897-1945) speak. Subhas Chandra Bose formed the Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army) in 1942. His iconic slogan still echoes in history: “Give me blood, and I will give you freedom.” In the same spirit, I once attended a socialist gathering where I heard a speech by Jayaprakash Narayan (1902-1979). The event was held in Azamgarh. Jayaprakash Narayan later became known as Lok Nayak. And so, days of my youth passed by. Then came that historic day, August 15, 1947. I did not hear the famous speech delivered at midnight by the then Viceroy, Lord Mountbatten (1900-1979), broadcast on All India Radio at 12:01 AM, in which he declared: “Today, India is free.” Like many others, I couldn’t listen to the speech live on the radio, but I read it in the newspaper the next morning. On August 15, 1947, I was in Azamgarh. I still remember that night clearly: when I stepped out of my residence and walked through the streets of the city, I was surrounded by the glow of joyous lights. The entire city was lit up in celebration. That light has now faded, but the time has come for all of us to come together and light a new lamp, heralding a new era for India. An era of rebuilding the nation. The era envisioned by Swami Vivekananda. The era for which Mahatma Gandhi gave his life. The era whose final chapter perhaps still awaits the pen of India’s historian. I am now over 90 years old, but my hopes are still alive. Every morning, I leave my room and sit quietly, waiting for the sun to rise. I remember that once, during an Independence Day programme, I heard an Urdu poet recite: Burj-e-mehn se nikla sooraj, roshan apna mustaqbil hai (The Quran 94:5)