It wouldn’t be Independence Day without the regular fare of hare-brained wisdom doing the rounds. From family chat groups to the timelines of public figures, such occasions are a trigger to let off a whole chain of banality. Leading the way, of course, are some of tinsel town’s famous faces. Falling over each other to tick all the boxes, presenting a picture of nauseating wholesomeness, it’s all in the game! Take, for instance, actress Taapsee Pannu. The ‘Manmarziyaan’ star chose to share “a powerful message”- as some generous media outlet labels it- on Twitter.

Also Read: Gahmar, the Village of Soldiers, celebrates India’s 76th Independence Day

In her tweet, she posted an image of the national flag, with an enlarged Ashok Chakra at its centre. Not content at keeping it minimal, each spoke of the chakra was shown to signify a particular quality/value, presumably for citizens to adopt: Namrata (meekness), Karuna (compassion), Param Buddhi (supreme intelligence), Sahas (courage), Swachh Gyan (pure knowledge) to name but a few. Accompanying this moral science revivalism was a message that is classic casuistry:

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that. Aur pyaar kaise kiya jata hai? Pyaar kar ke (how do we love? Simply by loving). Happy 75 years to our India, May we keep making her proud by being honest with that love.”

Also Read: Independence Day: Landmark moments in Indian sporting history

I don’t know what it says of me entirely, that I am picking apart an innocuous social media message, but there is a nerve that boils over when faced with a “How doe we love? Simply by loving.” It is as ridiculous as it is naive. Perhaps love comes easy in Mumbai’s upmarket neighbourhoods, but in a nation ravaged by partition and still living out its horrors- the NRC for instance– simply loving is not the replacement for a more progressive politics, not that the two are mutually exclusive, but the latter is less spoken of.