At 99, veteran freedom fighter GG Parikh is a man who still has hope for India. Speaking to the FPJ on the eve of 77th Independence Day, he said he had a lot of expectations from the youth of the country. Just as youngsters were increasingly concerned about environmental issues, he felt that they would evince interest in the politics of the nation and give honesty a central place.
Parikh said in the past "honesty was the norm and corruption the exception. Now it is the other way round. Corruption has sadly become the norm." He said all political parties, barring a few exceptions, were corrupt and power-hungry. There was hardly any difference between them.
'Constitutional values being ignored'
Parikh, who was one of the heroes of the Quit India movement, said when India attained freedom on August 15, 1947 there was a lot of optimism. He said people had a dream about the future of the young country. "However, since 2014 the situation has deteriorated badly. He said the concept of a plural society has been destroyed. The freedom struggle was for the creation of a plural society. But, now Constitutional values have been ignored," he regretted.
He said mob lynching, the events of Manipur and other such violent incidents were a matter of deep concern. What was even more worrying was that those convicted of rape were given heros' welcome when they came out of jails. The feeling of Bhartiya is less now. The minorities were a worried lot. He said both the ruling BJP and the opposition were corrupt. He specially referred to the recent political developments in Maharashtra which were matters of extreme concern to the people. He said a third alternative can come only from the youth of the country and hoped that youngsters would come forward and uphold the Indian Constitution.
Parikh was a part of the socialist movement and post-Independence he established the Yusuf Meherally Centre to foster values of secularism and compassion for the underprivileged. A highly-respected father figure of Mumbai, he was recently in the news when he went ahead and paid his tributes to the martyrs of the Quit India movement at August Kranti Maidan at Gowalia Tank even as many of those accompanying him were detained by the police.
