As I
surf the net and browse through all the glorious images of 69th
Independence Day celebrations of India, I wonder, whether the true meaning of
the term “Freedom” confined only to the Nation's Independence? Despite being
freed from the clutches of slavery and foreign rule, are we still truly free even
after 69 years? Although no man can be completely free ever as Jean-Jacques Rousseau had once put it,
but there are still some dimensions, achieving of which I believe, would give
the 15th August celebrations a greater meaning.
Freedom of Expression - It is ironical
that we still crave for freedom to express ourselves freely in a “Democratic”
country like ours when actually it should be one of the most fundamental rights
that we are entitled to. Cartoonists,
film makers, artists, writers, authors, social celebs, or a common man is never
free to voice his opinions freely on most burning and sensitive issues.
Although politicians in our country belong to a different league and hold
different set of privileges as they get away easily while making highly
divisive remarks and hate speeches, but anyone below that grade certainly
doesn’t enjoy that freedom.
Freedom from being judged - Who decides
what is morally correct and what is wrong? Why a woman should be judged in the
wrong light if she chooses to party out late at night with her friends or drink
and dance in a pub. Who gives someone else the right to label us as a “slut” or
a “loose character” on the basis of the clothes we wear or for the tattoo we
choose to show off on our navel? Don’t we all have the equal right to express
ourselves without the fear of being misjudged? Stop stereo-typing or judging
us. No one likes to be put into rigid categories. We all have the right to make
our choices and live with it without getting ostracized as long as it is
socially acceptable and, the least, we expect others to do is to show respect
towards it.
Freedom to make decisions- At a time,
when we see more Indian-origin men and women taking on the reigns and calling
the shots at most coveted globally powerful companies, we also find that
majority of the people in our own homeland don’t have the basic right to take
their own decisions because of various restrictions- be it societal or otherwise!
Think of the elections we have here in India. As much we would like to live with
the illusion, that we the people of India have the most important power to
elect our representative, but how much of it is really true? We do cast our votes,
but the actual results are influenced by muscle power, lobbying and money. And
sadly, this holds good even to other spheres of life- be it business, sports,
or our daily lives. Even choosing sexual inclinations like homosexuality is
still a taboo in India.
Freedom from corruption- Hardly a day
goes by when we do not witness this ugly practice becoming a dominant part of
our daily life. Sometimes we are subjected to it, many a times we indulge in it
and encourage it or almost often we are at receiving end of it. Corruption has
made such deep inroads into our society that it seems like a Hercules task to
wipe it out. It engulfs us like the air we breathe and that day is not far when
we would get choked to inhumane death by breathing this- day in and day out.
Freedom to walk on the streets of India
without getting molested or raped- Safety of women remains one of the most
sensitive and debated issues in India today. How safe do most of us (women)
feel to walk the streets of our own country or take the public transportation?
We can never be truly free if we the women and children of India don’t feel
secure enough to exist here!
Of
course, freedom means many other things to many people and we may never
actually reach a point where we can have all of it, but I am hoping that if not
us at least our children or grand children will get to live in a better and
free world.
Remembering
the famous lines written by Sir Rabindranath Tagore:
Where
the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where
knowledge is free
Where
the world has not been broken up into fragments
By
narrow domestic walls
Where
words come out from the depth of truth
Where
tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where
the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into
the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where
the mind is led forward by thee
Into
ever-widening thought and action
Into
that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
