The India we inherited, the India we build

Recently, I watched Operation Safed Sagar a series on Netflix, and it brought back so many memories of everything we had seen on the news and read about the Kargil War.

I don’t usually show movies or series to my kids unless they are specifically certified or made for children. But this time, I was tempted to show it to my daughter. I thought perhaps it would help her connect with a part of the history she has only been told.

And yet, I find myself hesitating.

How much of our history should we expose our children to? Where do we draw the line between helping them understand the sacrifices that shaped our country and exposing them to violence, hatred and the darker side of conflict at this tender age?

Every Independence Day, we look back at the struggles of our freedom fighters with pride. We share stories, posts and reels celebrating the India they fought for.

But perhaps this is also a good time to ask ourselves: What kind of India are we building for the next generation?

A country that is still grappling with unemployment, women safety, pollution, corruption and inequality. A country where we have an extraordinary number of people creating content, but perhaps far fewer working on research, innovation and solutions to the problems we face.

I once read something that stayed with me: If we paid our teachers more than our politicians and celebrities, perhaps we would have a better future. Right now, I feel education has taken a backseat. The focus seems to have shifted towards making more money, and somewhere along the way, the values we once placed on education seem to have changed. I see fewer people reading and having an open mind about ideas, thoughts and opinions. 

Maybe that is what our children need to see too—not just the India we inherited, but the India we have the responsibility to create.

So, I’m still contemplating whether to show my daughter Operation Safed Sagar. Perhaps the question isn’t simply whether the kids need to know what happened years ago.

 Perhaps they also needs to be guided towards taking pride not only in the India that was fought for, but in the India that we can build—an India that is more educated, peaceful, equitable, innovative and hopeful.