CMC chapel choir sings Vande Mataram medley - Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day! As we honour our great leaders who won our freedom for us at great personal cost, I feel happy and proud to be a member of this great nation with its rich and varied heritage. As we worshipped in the church this morning, I was wondering at the magnanimity and openness of our leaders who enshrined the precepts of secularism in our constitution. How easy it would have been for this country with its huge majority of Hindus to declare itself a Hindu state and follow the path of so many of our neighbours into religious fanaticism and destruction. How easy it would have been for our leaders to have won the votes and hearts of the majority of our population with a narrow-minded agenda. How easy it would have been for them to declare - Hindustan for Hindus. But it is a sign of their greatness that we live in this land of freedom in all forms, including religious. Where I am proud to call myself an Indian although I come from a minority community. Where I can follow my own life and path without fear of prosecution or retribution. Where I can join with my fellow Indians to sing together 'Maa Tujhe Salaam - Vande Mataram'