Dear India, Criticism is Not Anti-National, Write FTII Students

Student of the FTII urge fellow citizens to never give up on asking questions and demanding change.

Students of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) write a letter to the nation saying that their hearts burn with hopes for a better country and a better institute. They collectively ask an important question- why is criticism or questioning of certain aspects of the country perceived as being anti-national?

 

Dear India,

We wish a very happy Republic day to you, from all of us here at FTII.
Being a part of this glorious and diverse nation is an honour that cannot be put into words, but that doesn’t mean that we cannot ask uncomfortable and pertinent questions that force an introspection of the current state of affairs in our country.
If anything, a thorough reflection of the circumstances that still ensnare us is as important as celebrating our enthusiasm and pride at belonging to this vibrant and magnificent country.

Love is a complex emotion; it seems to be widely accepted. When you love someone, their well-being is paramount. We are often most critical to the ones that we love, sometimes harsh and direct to them. Why? Because their growth is our growth, and we constantly expect the best out of them. The notion that you become ‘anti-national’ by criticising the establishment and expecting improvements is mystifying therefore, if not laughable, it must be said. Why is it perceived in certain quarters that if you love your country, you cannot question it? Is this how independence and progress has been achieved?

We, the students of the Film and Television Institute of India have been protesting against the myopic and incapable appointments made to the apex body of our institute for more than 7 months now, but we do have an identity apart from the angry and upset, bearded folk that you see flashed across the media. We are both young and some not so young, opinionated and passionate citizens of this great nation, distressed and distraught at several of the incidents transpiring in our country in recent times, and the fact that there is so much work to be done before we can be satisfied.

We are also optimistic that we have the potential to accomplish the dreams that our freedom fighters fought so hard for and that the basic fabric of our country can enable us to strive for great and beautiful things. Economic progress, human development and eradicating so many of the issues that hold us back.

Dear India, to those of you that have stood by us in any way with our strike and our protest, we know not how to thank you, but to say that it is people like you who keep our faith alive, and the fire in our heart burning. To those of you who have not, we hope that you will attempt to gain an in depth understanding of the very urgent issues that engulf our beloved country. The interference in academia, the curtailing of the freedom of expression and so on.

As for our institute, let me stress that our fight has not been against one man, or even one set of people. It has been for a transparent process for the appointment of the apex governing body of our institute, against lazy, inefficient, irresponsible and shoddy management and against governance that spares no attempt to blatantly ignore our well justified demands for the betterment of our institute and shakes our very faith in our democracy.

Dear India, we love you, but we think you could do better. It’s us who define you after all and we feel that we need to strive and improve so much more to befit you. There is no fabric of any nation that can withstand the deterioration or the ignorance of its citizens, after all.

We hope therefore, that you will speak up. If each one of you, ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country, and also take that one step further, and ask what you can do for your institute, your society, your neighbourhood, then we know that the future is in good hands.

With love and hope in our hearts,

The students of the FTII  

 

Audi India is proud to be a part of India’s progressive growth and salutes the spirit of India.

(Do you ever feel like talking to India? Yes, perfect. This is your chance to write to her to tell her how you feel about her. You could be bitchy, angry, happy, emotional or spoofy. But if your answer is No – never mind, there is always a beginning. Let’s start here. Send us what you want to tell your India and we will publish it. Don’t be shy, just say it all. Mail us your letter at [e-mail]. We’ll ensure India gets your message.)