Senior citizens tell us how Independence Day used to be so much more than ‘a long weekend’

Yashoda Bareja, who turns 86 this year, has lived longer than our nation, which celebrates its 78th anniversary today. “I came to this country barefoot, with only the clothes on my back. The very meaning of home changed,” she says.

For many in their 70s and 80s — who are as old as, or only slightly younger than India itself — the country has transformed before their eyes. While many of us might associate Independence Day with a “long weekend, yay!”, it’s a much deeper experience for them.

We spoke to three such senior citizens to understand how their sense of freedom and the celebration of Independence have evolved over the years.

Atar Singh Bhalla, a 74-year-old from Delhi, who now lives in Aligarh

For many of these 70 and 80-year-olds — who are as old as or only a few years younger than the creation of India — the country has metamorphosised in front of their very eyes. (Express archive photo)

As a teenager in the late 60s, Bhalla would spend Independence Day at the Red Fort, singing Vande Mataram and screaming “Jai Hind” at the top of his lungs. “People eagerly anticipated the day, remembering the struggles and sacrifices that led to our freedom,” he reminisces.

He moved to Saudi Arabia for work in his 30s, and recalls gathering at the Indian embassy. “Even if we didn’t have a holiday that day, we’d take time off just to be there. We’d start early and watch the embassy staff hoist the flag.”

Although Independence Day now often exists only in social media “selfies” for Atar’s grandkids, the 74-year-old believes one thing unites the youth today with his generation: “Our desire for the success, progress, and growth of our country.”

Reflecting on the nation’s journey, he says, “It’s remarkable to see how far we’ve come and how self-sufficient we’ve become.” Bhalla shares one hope for the younger generation: “We wish for them to be wise enough to care deeply for their country.”

Yashoda Bareja, an 85-year-old from Panipat

Leaders of the Congress and the Muslim League with the Viceroy, Lord Mountbatten at the meeting held on June 3, 1947, who agreed to the transfer of power and the partition of India. (Express archive photo)

Bareja, a Multani Punjabi, was just eight years old when she and her family fled to India after Partition, with “only the clothes on our backs.” Her youngest brother was lost during their journey on foot. “I don’t even remember his face or his voice anymore,” she says.

Now 85, she recalls how the only way to survive the new reality was to forget her broken family and move on. And move on, she did. Today, she is a mother of six, grandmother of 13, and great-grandmother of two, with another on the way.

“Thinking of Independence only brought me pain for the longest time. How could I be happy when I had lost everything? But time has dimmed the pain. This is my home now, my children’s home. I’m glad my children and grandchildren have no memories of that time and can claim this freedom as their own,” she says.

Members of ‘Hind-Pak Dosti’ take part in a candle light march celebration on Indian and Pakistani Independence Day at Indo-Pak Wagha border in 2008. (Express archive photo)

Shantha Sinha, a 74-year-old from Hyderabad

The first two decades after independence were a different time, says Shantha Sinha, an Indian activist, Padma Shri awardee, and the first chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights.

For Shantha and her family, who had been part of the freedom struggle, Independence Day was a deeply personal moment of pride and reflection. “Each year, the whole family would sit together to listen to the Prime Minister’s speech. I would choke up while singing the national anthem—I still do,” says Shantha, 74.

She recalls that this emotion was shared widely. “It was everywhere. People sang ‘Jai Hind’ in their colonies, at home, and even at school.” Over time, this ritual faded, but Shantha doesn’t blame the younger generation.

Shantha says the youth still has a “fire to change the society” but it is our duty to help it burn brighter in them. (Express archive photo)

“I have never been cynical about the youth’s pride in our country. I think we, the older generation, haven’t done enough,” she says. “We took our democracy, secularism, equality, and social justice for granted, forgetting that these principles need to be constantly nurtured and built upon. Our parents and grandparents taught us to be proud of our history, but we haven’t done the same for our young ones.”

Shantha believes that the youth still possess a “fire to change society,” but it is our duty to help it burn brighter in them.

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