HYDERABAD: The 71st Independence Day celebrations seemed to have been largely concentrated on social media alone. Flag hoistings took place in schools and government offices but not much nationalist fervour was noted on the streets and other places.
As wishes accumulated on social media, there were no marches or mass gatherings in Telangana to commemorate the day.
In contrast to this, a march was conducted by many Indian organisations in Britain with members of Telangana Association of United Kingdom (TAUK) also joining in. The march was conducted from London Parliament Square to the High Commission Office with members claiming that it was a proud feeling to unfurl the Indian Flag on foreign soil.
Vineeta David, a resident of Madhapur says, “Nowadays, Independence Day celebrations are being held in flats with most residents getting together in the morning. It has become a very private affair with public wishes being made on social media only. Students also, are not mandatorily required to attend the flag hoisting ceremonies. It is sad because Independence Day is truly a day to feel one with everybody.”
Tollywood was no exception as it stormed the social media with its Independence Day wishes and the return wishes by their fans. There were no photos uploaded of them actually being present at a flag-hoisting ceremony, except Allu Arjun who held a flag-hoisting ceremony at his house.
The most popular tweet of the day was that of Mahesh Babu who tweeted, ‘Freedom is our priceless possession.” With over 22 000 ‘likes’ and 6,000 ‘retweets’, it was at the top of the list. Rana Daggubati of Bahubali fame, wished his fans Happy Independence Day with a poster of his movie, Nene Raju Nene Mantri that showed him holding the Tricolour.
Other celebrities who took to twitter were Samantha Prabhu, Vennela Kishore, Lakshmi Manchu and some others.
While some people came to the major parts of the city like Sanjeeviah Park, Golconda and the Parade Ground where flag-hoisting ceremonies were held, wishing online was more in number.
Akash Sunil, a student says, “It is a known fact that Independence Day is celebrated in schools and government offices. But citizens should actively take part in public flag-hoisting ceremonies rather than conduct private ones to ensure that the day is spent in harmony with many others. Patriotism is a feeling and the proud moment of the flag-hoisting should be experienced in the company of other people.”
Tweet talk
Mahesh Babu: @urstrulyMahesh
Freedom is our priceless possession. Let us honour it forever. Happy Independence day! #IndependenceDayIndia (sic)
Samantha Prabhu: @Samanthaprabhu2
We now live in an India that is so full of hope . From strength to strength #IndependenceDayIndia #JaiHind. (sic)
Rana Daggubati: @RanaDaggubati
Took the weekend off!! And thank you all for making it an awesome weekend for me!' #NRNM!! And a #happyindependencedayindia to us!! (sic)
