74th Independence Day Of India And The Contemporary Issues Surrounding It

Bhubaneswar: As India moves towards celebrating its 74^th Independence Day, on 15th August there are many incidents, which the citizens of the country have been through since the last Independence Day (i.e. 15th Aug 2019).

Some incidents shook the nation, while some came as a relief among the citizens.

Amid the various incidents, which the nation has been though, there were some incidents, which affected the nation and left a mark on history of the country.

Some of the incidents, which can be considered as pivotal in shaping the future of the country, were as follows:

• Vikram Lander of Chandrayaan-2, India’s second lunar mission, crashed into the surface of the moon on 7^th September 2019. The incident sent shock waves in billions of Indians.
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed 50,000 Indian Americans at the Howdy Modi event in Houston of Texas in USA on 22^nd September 2019.
• The Month of October 2019 was a month of joy as it marked two incidents, which opened new frontiers for our country. On 24^th October India signed a memorandum of understanding with Pakistan in order to open the Kartarpur Corridor for visa-free border crossings. This allowed Indian citizens to visit the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Sikh shrine in Pakistan. On the other end, Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into two union territories on October 31^st. The new union territories formed were Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
• The Supreme Court of India gave a landmark verdict on Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi temple on 9^th November 2019. The Apex court gave the verdict in favour of Hindus and gave a green signal for the construction of the temple.
• The Parliament of India passed The Citizenship (Amendment) Act on December 11, 2019.
• The month of February 2020 was quite important from India’s point of view regarding both internal affairs and external affairs. The Internal affair was concerned with Delhi Legislative Assembly election and external affair was related to US President Donald Trump India visit.
• The Delhi Legislative Assembly election results were announced on February 11, 2020 and Aam Aadmi Party emerged victorious.
• On the other end, The U.S. President Donald Trump reached India on February 24, 2020 for a two-day visit. Trump toured Mahatma Gandhi’s Sabarmati Ashram and the Taj Mahal at Agra during his visit. Trump’s visit to India was important as it strengthened many defense agreements between two countries.
• A nationwide lockdown for 21 days was imposed on 24 March 2020 by the Government of India as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 pandemic in India.
• The month of May proved devastating as Cyclone Amphan hit the eastern part of India on 16^th May 2020.
• The border tension between India and China intensified during June 15^th and 16^th as 20 Indian army personnel were killed in action at LAC in the Galwan Valley of Ladakh.
• A reformation in the education system in India was witnessed on July 29 as National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) was approved by the Union Cabinet.
• Lastly, it was on August 5, 2020 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed Bhoomi Pujan and laid the foundation stone of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya.

The above-mentioned incidents are likely to cause a chain of events in the recent or distant future of the country. The upcoming Independence Day celebrations in the country is expected to be one of a kind due to looming Covid-19 crisis.

Even though the country is presently going through a lot of turmoil, it is hoped that the nation comes back to normalcy soon.