NEW DELHI: A former judge of the Indian Supreme Court and the former Press Council of India Chairman, Markandey Katju, Thursday (today) said that he regarded celebrating Republic Day or Independence Day in India as an insult.
Markandey Katju, is known for voicing his opinions on social issues in India via blogs and opinion pieces. On the occasion of India’s Republic Day, the former judge took to social media and shared a lengthy post in which he described celebrating the event as an ‘insult to my people’.
“What is there to celebrate about? has poverty been abolished in India? Has unemployment been abolished? No? Then what are the celebrations, parades and flag hoisting about?” he said. “I regard it as a cruel farce and an insult to my people to celebrate when over 75% of the 1.25 billion Indians are living in horrible poverty,” he wrote.
#RepublicDay pic.twitter.com/b6173t9Ndw
— Markandey Katju (@mkatju) January 26, 2017
Terming it all as a ‘farce’, Katju stated that people can partake in it all they want but should not expect him to join. He concluded his message by stating that he would celebrate the occasions when every Indian is living a prosperous life with a high standard of living. He stated that he knew it would be long after his death when that comes to pass.
“But on that day I will be showering flowers and rose petals on my motherland from the skies,” he said.
