Celebrating Independence Day with Children's Books

These books are a dynamic way to engage with questions such as India's role as a regional power instead of merely getting nostalgic

While August 15, India's Independence Day, is an apt occasion for schools to commemorate our freedom struggle, perhaps we need to also look at events in more recent Indian history so that children can reflect on what we have done with the freedom gained from the British rule.

There are three wonderful new books for children, which I would like to dwell on. I hope that parents, grandparents, educators and other caregivers will consider using them to initiate meaningful conversations with the children in their lives. I do not mean sussing out the so-called moral of the story but sitting together, hearing each other, and making meaning.

Author Menaka Raman and illustrator Annada Menon's book, Topi Rockets From Thumba: The Story Behind India's First-ever Rocket Launch, published by Puffin Books, is about changes in people's lives in a fishing village in Kerala – and eventually, all of India – when Vikram Sarabhai and his team came to work on India's first rocket launch in 1963. The story foregrounds the perspective of a fictional child named Mary, who loves to ask questions.

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She asks the physicist and astronomer, "Why do you want to come and do science in Thumba? Why not Bombay? Or Trivandrum? What's so special about our village?" He listens to her query respectfully and tells her that the magnetic equator passes through Thumba and St. Magdalene's church, which Mary and her family visit. Sarabhai says, "It's very important to the work we are going to do. That is why we've chosen your village."

This book will make children think about the price paid for development and scientific progress and whether it was worth the trouble. Mary and her friends have to sacrifice their homes and relocate to make way for the space mission.

The author writes, "We were a newly independent nation, many of our people went to bed hungry, there was widespread poverty. But Sarabhai knew how crucial it was for the country to build its science and research technologies and not be dependent on other countries." However, India did benefit from the generosity of other countries, at least initially.

When Mary feels impatient and approaches Sarabhai to ask why India is taking so long to launch its first rocket, he does not dismiss her curiosity. He tells her that the rocket will help India's scientists study the atmosphere, predict storms and improve communication systems. He also expresses the hope that she might grow up and contribute to their work.

He says, "The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States is sending us a Nike Apache Rocket. They are also training our scientists at their centres in America. The Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES) of France is sending us a radar and the rocket's payload. A payload is what the rocket will carry up into the atmosphere. The Academy of Sciences of the USSR is sending us a digital computer."

Sushant Singh and Shruti Rao's book, India to the Rescue, illustrated by Shagnik Chakraborty and published by Juggernaut Books, is about a time when it was India's turn to take responsibility and offer help. It tells the story of Operation Cactus, launched by India when Malé – the capital of the Maldives – was attacked by the People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam. The attackers were "funded, recruited, armed and trained" by Abdullah Luthufi.

While they managed to capture the television and radio stations and cut off water and electric supplies, the then Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom quickly escaped to a safe house in the city. He reached out to India, Pakistan, Malaysia, the United States and the United Kingdom. India stepped in to help avert the coup because "as the largest country in South Asia, India wanted to establish itself as a regional superpower."

Arun Banerjee, who was India's High Commissioner to the Maldives, and Brigadier Farooq Balsara played a significant role in this mission's success. The book salutes their contributions.

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Though the extensive account of India's war machinery could have been abridged to keep the focus on good neighbourliness and timely solidarity, the authors introduce children to an important function of the armed forces – disaster relief and humanitarian assistance. Does this amount to whitewashing the horrors of war inflicted by the same institutions? The question could open up a dialogue if children are not forced into taking a rigid position.

Singh and Rao write, "Large countries spend tonnes of money on a strong defence force…many small countries, especially island nations that mind their own business, get along just fine without a military." They add, "But what if other busybodies don't let them live in peace? Valid question. Some of these small countries have pacts and protection agreements with larger countries for just this kind of scenario."

The intention to protect smaller nation-states is honourable and must be accompanied by a commitment to protect minorities within India. This is the subject that author Samina Mishra and illustrator Priya Kuriyan flesh out in their book, Nida Finds a Way, published by Duckbill Books. Though the book is primarily about the relationship between a girl named Nida and her beloved father, who live in Delhi, it also commemorates the Shaheen Bagh protests.

The Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens are not mentioned, but the book records a crucial moment from 2019 when people across different walks of life came together to uphold our democratic freedoms. The author writes, "There were speeches blasting from loudspeakers, songs from a group to one side, rhythmic chanting from a group to another side. There was colour and light and energy."

Worried about her safety, Nida's father wants her to sit at home, but she sneaks out and goes to the protest site. Neither she nor her grandmother can understand the words being said but being with everyone feels empowering to them. This is a dynamic way to engage with questions of citizenship instead of merely getting nostalgic and resting on our laurels.