Celina Speaks on DEMOCRACY

On celebration of our 62nd year of Independence, I write today as a fourth generation Indian army daughter and not Celina Jaitly.

We have come a long way and this Independence Day I specially dedicate what I write, to all the soldiers of the great Indian Army, because the courage, strength and determination with which I stand today as a young woman runs in my veins from a very brave lineage of warriors who fought for the integrity and security of this country. The only difference is I am fighting the enemy which is gnawing at the very roots of this democracy from within.

The babas and yogis and many others self appointed “theckedars of society”, who have scorned me and assassinated my character and questioned “who” gave me (just an actress) the right to stand up for causes of society. Well, four generations of my family’s blood has gone into the service of this nation for nothing in return but a few medals... I HAVE THE RIGHT BLOODY WELL MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE to protect the legacy from within and for which these brave men have given their lives without a single complaint but a smile in the face of the enemy’s bayonet .

I pledge this Independence Day that I will not allow anyone to gnaw at the roots of this great democracy. I will not let anyone stand in the way of human dignity, human rights...

. Right to equality
. Right to freedom
. Right against exploitation
. Right to freedom of religion
. Cultural and educational rights
. Right to constitutional remedies

... There is nothing more powerful then citizen action to combat corruption. This Independence Day I would like to say again that everybody thinks of changing humanity but nobody thinks of changing themselves. Change your attitude from within (for any cause) and your support is shown.

From a citizens’ rights point of view, the solution to all our complaints is to view them as your and my responsibility... not that of governments, the police and multinational companies. “You and I” should play our part if we want things to happen in our interest... in the citizens’ interest ... our biggest complaint is corruption and the only way to fight corruption is if we the people are willing to stand in line, wait for our turn and follow normal procedures to get service. Do not be afraid to stand up and voice your opinion, know your rights. There are enough fundamental rights to protect us... Use your power of vote... it’s all about the first step... take it.

This Independence Day is also the celebration of India on its way to becoming a complete true democracy. This year has seen the victory of a very small minority which has been living behind the bars of a colonial relic of a law... yes my friends, the LGBT community. I want to specify once again that giving the sexual minorities their rights does not diminish your own. It’s not about gay rights, it’s about human dignity and basic human rights.

This Independence Day I shall walk hand in hand with the community on August 16th at the very first non-criminally yours ‘GAY PRIDE’... a walk of the community whose very alternate choice of living was a criminal offence for the last 160 years.

Our country got it’s independence but some people within this country were still not free, independent and their fight for dignity has been the longest. People like Ashok Row Kavi spent most of their life in this endeavour and are the unsung heroes of this struggle for Independence. I also applaud brave women like Lakshmi and Gita Kumana who dared to fight all and stand up for themselves and all like them.

The first Independence Day speech was made by Jawaharlal Nehru. It is known as “Tryst with Destiny”. The speech was made to the Indian Constituent Assembly on the eve of India’s independence, towards midnight on August 14, 1947. And for all the people who found their freedom only now, I would like to put the following lines which are very famous from his historical speech–

“A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity...”

I feel and speak on behalf of the entire LGBT community happily that now with rights for all we can all work together for the betterment of our beloved country. Let us forget caste, creed, sexuality, religion... let us be one for the betterment of us all, for the betterment of our nation. As Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore said in his most famous poem, “Where the mind is without fear/And the head is held high/Into that heaven of freedom, my Father/Let my country awake...”

VANDE MATARAM!

Celina Jaitely, independence day, LGBT Posted by Celina Jaitley on Fri, 14 Aug, 2009

N.B. Celina neither smokes nor drinks
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Good for you Celina. You put to shame the warped minds of some people in this country. You are a beauty with brains which is more than I can say about our local morons - no beauty and no brains. This is the ugly side of Malaysia. You will know who they are - if you already do not. Yet we promote the world renowned commercial .... Malaysia Truly Asia!

We too have come a long way from Independence Day .... but have a longer way to go towards achieving democracy.

We have our very own self appointed 'babas' and 'yogis' too - the "thekedars of society" as you aptly stated, who are tring so hard and resorting to surrepticious ways to silence the Peoples' voice. These are people with insidious intents.

We too have the bloody right to voice our opinions without having the draconian ISA Internal Security Act ) hovering above us each time we voice our disatisfaction of the lack of governance in general. We are fighting to abolish that too.

We had an anti-ISA rally not long ago but the police were quick to act .... contrary to a timid and 'peaceful' police force when a cow's head was displayed in protest of an Indian temple being in a 'Malay majority' area.

And the new PM calls this country 1Malaysia! I am still in a daze as to what this 1Malaysia is all about and for which race it is for. Many of us are.

But you see Celina, the present regime is infested with cockroaches - After our frist Prime Minister all hell broke loose.

In a place where the vast majority are Hindus, India seems to be handling the religious issues very well as compared to a Muslim majority country like ours - where the non-Muslims are subject to the Malay Supremacy.

We are considered 'pendatangs' or immigrants. But they fail to understand where they came from.

"Things Fall Apart, the center never holds ( in this case ) and mere anarchy is loosed upon the world."

Corruption is rampant. But little is done for obvious reasons.

Permit me to quote what you said. I think this is one quotation that is a valuable lesson for all the citizens of this country.

There is nothing more powerful then citizen action to combat corruption. This Independence Day I would like to say again that everybody thinks of changing humanity but nobody thinks of changing themselves. Change your attitude from within (for any cause) and your support is shown.

- Celina Jaitly