Whose Freedom?
The country celebrates 70 years of freedom today. There are parades in almost all schools, flag hoisting ceremonies,cycle rallies and independence day messages. There are people selling balloons and flags of all sizes. But what are we actually celebrating?
What India achieved on the 15th of August 1947 was freedom from one important type of constraint placed upon liberty-colonial domination. Colonial domination has in fact been one of the worst systems of oppression that has subjugated generations of people to ill treatment and violence and has looted all the resources of otherwise prosperous nations across the world.It has enslaved people and has violated their human rights. Therefore colonialism is a concept that hampers the freedom of the colonized nation and its citizens.So our independence from Britain after 200 years of oppression is not to be belittled in any manner.Yes,we are free from colonialism.However, how free are we today in the true sense of freedom?
'Freedom'in its true sense is a broad concept that advocates for a society which places minimum restrictions on an individual to develop his creativity and potential. It has different facets in different contexts. A free society is one in which every human being is entitled to all the conditions which help him to become what he wishes to become. There aren't any social constraints placed on him.No restrictions of gender,caste,religion,race,class or status. So is India actually free?
There are different types of perils to freedom that we are fighting against even today.Our nation is not yet free from inequality,discrimination,unemployment,divisive forces, bigotry, intolerance, hatred and violence. Millions of people in our country are not yet free from the shackles of poverty which denies them access to many basic goods and opportunities. Dalits are not yet free from discrimination and violence.Millions of children are not free from child labour. There are still many who are not free from hunger. Women are not free from chauvinism.
For many sections of the Indian population, freedom is still a distant dream.One among them are the Adivasis. The Adivasis in fact have been the most discriminated section of the population throughout the course of history. They were denied their rights to livelihood when the colonial government brought in the forest laws which took away their rights to the forest. They lost their property and their means of livelihood. They were branded as criminals and were held hostages.Even when the Indian government took over the British, no improvements happened in their situation. The government still continues to sell their land to Multi National Corporations and other businesses, thus jeopardizing their rights. Many of them still don't have access to proper food, housing, employment opportunities, education or healthcare. When they voice their protests,they are branded as Maoists and Naxalites and are jailed and killed.They are harassed. No one comes to their support.They remain as alienated as they were, a thousand years ago. In fact many of them even don't know anything beyond their tribe- they don't even know that they live in a country called India which won its freedom on the 15th of August 1947.
And yet another section, are the people living in insurgency hit regions of Kashmir and North-East.Even as the country immerses itself in celebrations, hundreds of young boys and men are being hit by pellet guns and killed by firing. Mothers are lamenting for their sons who have disappeared out of the blue and their daughters who are being molested. The state continues oppression against these people through more army deployment, civilian attacks and the AFSPA. Governments have changed continually at the centre but none of them has shown political will to solve the issues of these areas. Instead of reaching out to the masses, the governments are simply playing the blame game.Development has not yet reached these areas in its true and holistic sense.Brave people like Irom Sharmila have come up to defend their freedom and rights.Yet the government seems to be ignorant of their efforts.
When such sections of our population continue to be oppressed and discriminated against, how can we say that we have achieved freedom?When a large section still continues to be denied basic human rights,what freedom are we talking about? Yes,our country has indeed improved in many qualitative aspects.
But yet, there is a long way to climb till we reach that summit of freedom.
But we can reduce the hardships in that climb ,once political will and collective social responsibility comes in the way.
Once we reach that peak, everything around us would look serene and breathtaking.
What India achieved on the 15th of August 1947 was freedom from one important type of constraint placed upon liberty-colonial domination. Colonial domination has in fact been one of the worst systems of oppression that has subjugated generations of people to ill treatment and violence and has looted all the resources of otherwise prosperous nations across the world.It has enslaved people and has violated their human rights. Therefore colonialism is a concept that hampers the freedom of the colonized nation and its citizens.So our independence from Britain after 200 years of oppression is not to be belittled in any manner.Yes,we are free from colonialism.However, how free are we today in the true sense of freedom?
'Freedom'in its true sense is a broad concept that advocates for a society which places minimum restrictions on an individual to develop his creativity and potential. It has different facets in different contexts. A free society is one in which every human being is entitled to all the conditions which help him to become what he wishes to become. There aren't any social constraints placed on him.No restrictions of gender,caste,religion,race,class or status. So is India actually free?
There are different types of perils to freedom that we are fighting against even today.Our nation is not yet free from inequality,discrimination,unemployment,divisive forces, bigotry, intolerance, hatred and violence. Millions of people in our country are not yet free from the shackles of poverty which denies them access to many basic goods and opportunities. Dalits are not yet free from discrimination and violence.Millions of children are not free from child labour. There are still many who are not free from hunger. Women are not free from chauvinism.
For many sections of the Indian population, freedom is still a distant dream.One among them are the Adivasis. The Adivasis in fact have been the most discriminated section of the population throughout the course of history. They were denied their rights to livelihood when the colonial government brought in the forest laws which took away their rights to the forest. They lost their property and their means of livelihood. They were branded as criminals and were held hostages.Even when the Indian government took over the British, no improvements happened in their situation. The government still continues to sell their land to Multi National Corporations and other businesses, thus jeopardizing their rights. Many of them still don't have access to proper food, housing, employment opportunities, education or healthcare. When they voice their protests,they are branded as Maoists and Naxalites and are jailed and killed.They are harassed. No one comes to their support.They remain as alienated as they were, a thousand years ago. In fact many of them even don't know anything beyond their tribe- they don't even know that they live in a country called India which won its freedom on the 15th of August 1947.
And yet another section, are the people living in insurgency hit regions of Kashmir and North-East.Even as the country immerses itself in celebrations, hundreds of young boys and men are being hit by pellet guns and killed by firing. Mothers are lamenting for their sons who have disappeared out of the blue and their daughters who are being molested. The state continues oppression against these people through more army deployment, civilian attacks and the AFSPA. Governments have changed continually at the centre but none of them has shown political will to solve the issues of these areas. Instead of reaching out to the masses, the governments are simply playing the blame game.Development has not yet reached these areas in its true and holistic sense.Brave people like Irom Sharmila have come up to defend their freedom and rights.Yet the government seems to be ignorant of their efforts.
When such sections of our population continue to be oppressed and discriminated against, how can we say that we have achieved freedom?When a large section still continues to be denied basic human rights,what freedom are we talking about? Yes,our country has indeed improved in many qualitative aspects.
But yet, there is a long way to climb till we reach that summit of freedom.
But we can reduce the hardships in that climb ,once political will and collective social responsibility comes in the way.
Once we reach that peak, everything around us would look serene and breathtaking.
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