Its 15th August and its India's 62nd Independence Day today. On 15th August 1947, India won its independence from the British rule.
Over the last few days I have been racking my brains to answer a basic question - What does Independence Day mean to me? What does Freedom mean to me? What is the importance of this day in my life?
I've come up short on answering all these questions and still haven't found an answer for them.
I was born in a free country and have lived my life in a free country. Although sometimes it doesn't feel like that with the communal tensions and the constant news of 'freedom of expression' getting squashed at various times.
We call ourselves a free country but college kids are not allowed to wear the dress of their choice, caste discrimnation is rampant when Dalits are not allowed to enter temples, artists like M F Husain and many others cannot take creative liberties on our Gods and Goddesses, taboo subjects abound like pre-marital sex or teenage sex and people like Khusboo are prosecuted if they speak on the subjects, a little nudity on screen or magazine cover makes the artists face courts, politicians use language or location to incite people against 'immigrants' and God save you if you said anything against the reigning political figures like Bal Thackeray or Sonia Gandhi.
Are we really free or are we living in the shadow of all these repressive thoughts? Are we really free or do we just live life by walking a path to avoid these choices? Did we pass on the mantle from the Britishers to the moral police and politicians who pull our strings and make us dance to their tunes?
I wonder then why I should feel patriotic towards my country if I really live in fear and not free!
But I still do. I feel patriotic when terrorists attack my country, I feel patriotic when I hear my national anthem playing somewhere, I feel patriotic when I see movies like Lagaan, Lakshya and Rang De Bsanti and I feel patriotic when A R Rahman lifts the Oscar.
But really shouldn't I feel patriotic when I see India Gate and the Amar Jawan Jyoti rather than treating is as a tourist attraction? Shouldn't I feel patriotic when the soldier at Kargil dies protecting me and I see his coffin?
I am a confused man because I don't know if I live in a free country and I don't know what I feel for my country.
For me, unfortunately, Independence Day has been reduced to a holiday where I can sleep in late.
And that is sad! Something needs to be done to make me and the next generation feel proud of my country and to value my freedom!
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I haven't read a lot of David Baldacci books and neither am I a huge reader
of mystery thrillers from the new fleet of writers as you may have gauged
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Freedom is defined by degrees.
ReplyDeleteWalk into Iraq today and there is a continous real fear of being hit by a bomb, or a stray bullet hit.
Walk into Saudi Arabia, and women are immediately required to conform, dress code wise, and cannot do many things by themselves. You have to practise your religion inside your home if you are non Muslim.
There are many other examples. Freedom can only be experienced, in a relative context.
All your examples above are isolated situations where you can choose to be part of a group, and then have to conform to their rules.
College kids can choose the college they want to go to, if the dress they wear is more important than their vocation??!!
In the Indian urban context, India is incredibly free. Even the policeman cant control road traffic. I call this chaotic freedom.
The good model is Singapore. They have a mix of economic freedom, robust governance and good multi cultural mix. Bit boring at times. But very solid.
Our benchmark needs to be a country like Canada or New Zealand and not Iraq or Afghanistan. Things are definetly improving as far as governance is concerned, but not fast enough. I wish something like http://freedomteam.in/ would actualy materialise. But the problem is that our generation (that includes me) tends to pragmatic than idealistic. We need one more Gandhi- Even a thousand Narayanamurthy's won't help.
ReplyDeleteAfter 62 years of independence my hope would be that we have more freedom than we currently seem to have. I guess I want more.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to be dictated on what I should or should not wear or how to dress properly. I should be able to express myself creatively and speak my mind.
At the same time, I am immensely thankful that we have the extent of freedom that we have and I am not living in a country that gives me the ability to freely practice my religion and write blogs like this.
@Punit: I agree with you that freedom can only be a relative term.
@Anton: I completely agree with what you have said and think that as we grow older our benchmarks need to change as well. We cannot benchmark our independence and freedom with Afgahnistan or Iraq or Pakistan. We need to benchmark it with US or Canada or Singapore.
On a different note, what does Jana Gana Mana bring out in you? Do you get emotional, do you find it stirring, can you relate to the sacrifices made for our freedom? Just curious.
ReplyDeleteI often get into discussions on this topic with other Americans of Indian origin. I love India and the national anthem, but find it hard to explain why I get goosebumps when I hear a rendition of the Star Sprangled Banner. Not once have I heard the American anthem after becoming a citizen without remembering 9/11. I am aware of the history of the anthem and how it was composed during war time.
Do most Indians find a deeper meaning in Jana Gana Mana? Have been asking this question all of last week and trying to get a perspective.
Ratnesh - speaking personally everytime I hear Jana Gana Mana I do get goose bumps.
ReplyDeleteDo I get emotional and have tears in my eyes? Not everytime but definitely when it gets played at important games like Olympics or when we win something. Its at those times that one feels proud that our National Anthem is being played for the world.
Quite recently I have been listening to the words intently and finding deeper meaning about the country in them. I marvel at the words and the poet.