Happy Independence day everyone ! And while we celebrate, lets give a thought to the idea of ‘equality of Independence’. Independence was the both the end and the beginning. The end of the rule of the foreign Colonial Masters, and the dawn of the responsibilities brought with Freedom. Each Independence day should we not evaluate how responsibly we, the people of India, have treated the idea of Freedom ? How many of the citizens of India and the institutions of India have upheld the fundamental rights and duties to the Nation, to fellow citizens, to our environment,
\n65 % of our population was born in Free and Independent India. To them that day is only marked by an event in History, lots of rhetoric, lots of celebrations, and of course a holiday. Very very few truly understand the nature of living under an oppressive foreign rule. I know because both my parents and the rest of my family were part of the freedom movement and I grew up on the stories of incidents like JalianWala Bagh where my uncles and Grandfather were present.
\nBut to the people of today surely freedom must mean, the Freedom from Hunger, The Freedom from Ignorance. The Freedom from illiteracy, The Freedom from oppression from one of the most oppressive police regimes in the world, Freedom from Injustice in one of the most extended and chaotic justice systems in the world. For justice delayed is justice denied. Freedom from disease, in a country that has one of the highest rates of infant mortality, HIV cases, Diabetic people and Heart ailments in the world. Freedom from the Caste System – which is probably the most oppressive social systems in the world, consigning huge swathes of our population to a life of fear and economic and social servitude. And Freedom from one of the most corrupt places in the world to live.
\nYes, India is shining. Yes India is the only growing economy in the world in the current downturn. Yes, India has a mass technological base, with some of the best scientists, entrepreneurs, doctors, technologists in the world. But these skills serve and live amongst no more than 5% to 10% of India’s population.
\nFor 80% of the population of our country 65 years of freedom and democracy has done nothing other than the chance to vote in a completely imperfect and corruptible voting system. How would we ask them to celebrate the Independence day ?
\nWhat are we going to ask the poor farmer in Maharashtra, in Madhya Pradesh, In UP, in Orrisa, in West Bengal or Bihar to celebrate ? What about ? Ridden by debt, unsure of his survival, unable to feed his family leave aside educating them, this is the only life the farmer has seen in the last 65 years. Nothing changed for his Grandfather or his father, nor does he see any change or hope for his son since the British left. Other than that those that have used freedom to their own ends have gradually eroded his environment and sucked out water from his land and made it even tougher for him to survive.
\nI am sorry. But ‘we the 10 % ‘ that have walked away with all the advantages of Freedom usurping power for our own benefit and often at the cost of the rest of the people of India, need to pause on this day and ask :
\n” Are we following the true spirit of our Constitution and the idea of Freedom that Nehru spoke so fervently about in his midnight speech, that Mahatma Gandhi along with hundreds of thousands of people that gave everything including their lives and those of their loved ones for a great idea, a great dream ?
\nOr have we corrupted those ideals for our own benefit and good, thereby making mockery of their sacrifices ?”
\nToday, the 15 of August 2009, we should all pause for thought, and then take the next step foward in our lives.
\nshekhar<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Happy Independence day everyone ! And while we celebrate, lets give a thought to the idea of ‘equality of Independence’. Independence was the both the end and the beginning. The end of the rule of the foreign Colonial Masters, and the dawn of the responsibilities brought with Freedom. Each Independence day should we not evaluate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-point-of-view"],"yoast_head":"\n