MAN IS BORN FREE, BUT EVERYWHERE HE IS IN CHAIN. J. J.

Rousseau Man, though born free like other animals, is in chain everywhere. It is also true that nature has created man free from all shackles and fetters. Man, in the process of his change from primitive tribalism to civilized existence, has chained himself. No doubt, at the present era all animals in their natural state are free except man. If animals have lost their freedom, it is only because of man's needs and deeds. Aristotle defines a free man in a fitting manner as; He who has overcome his fears will truly be free. Man is in chain because of the restrictions and restraints which he imposes on himself. Sometimes these restrictions are imposed on him by a society. These restrictions may be rigid rules, old customs and traditions in society which man usually follows in a society at any cost. There is no denying the fact that man, living in a society, has to follow certain customs, conventions and traditions in the interest of harmonious co-existence. Nelson Mandela rightly elaborates;
For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.

The craving for freedom in any living creature is instinctive. In man it is not only instinctive but also cerebral. The fight for freedom with which one is born has been age-old. It continues unabated, and it can be traced back in the evolutionary process of man to the present day civilization. The Magna Carta, the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, the American Bill of Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Supreme Court decisions on civil liberties in the United States, India, etc. point to man's craving for freedom. A classic example of suppression in the modern world is witnessed in the policy of apartheid and racial discrimination practised in South Africa. Henry David Thoreau rightly points out; Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be

slaves.
Imperialism in the past and neo-colonialism and neo-imperialism today have only been instruments of suppressing natural freedom of man. In fact, neo-imperialism has led to present day of intellectual bondage in the globalized world. Sren Kierkegaard while referring to intellectual slavery justly asserts; People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.

Even many developing countries like Pakistan due to insufficient resources and weak institutional base are not enjoying full fruits of freedom. They are dependent on foreign aid, grants, and international donors and financial institutions. In a way, they are also caught in the chains of slavery by which they are not able to purse independent and indigenous polices suitable to their conditions and needs. Carrie Jones fairly claims that; The secret of happiness is freedom, the secret of freedom is courage . To conclude, it can be highlighted that man is not free in the present time and there is still need to do a lot to free man from various shackles and chains. From these evils man wants to free himself, he wishes to breathe in the air of freedom. But due to certain chains of society he cannot breathe in a free air. Even it is observed that the third world countries are chained into the biggest chains of poverty, hunger, privation etc. Bob Marley appositely proposes to man and all nations; Better to die fighting for freedom then be a prisoner all the days of

your life.

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