FREEDOM REDEFINED At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life

and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance We end today a period of ill fortune, and India discovers herself again. These are the impressive words of the speech titled, Tryst with Destiny given by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on August 15, 1947. The real struggle for independence of India had begun almost 90 years before in 1857, when a group of sepoys mutinied against the East India Company. Nevertheless it needed another 90 years for India to become an Independent State. But, today, one must take a moment to ask oneself is India really free and independent? Other countries are still invading India. They build factories which produce goods they cant produce in their own country for the same money, even if it means ignoring the safety regulations. Child labour is still common, and not a lot of eyebrows are raised when a ten year old boy serves us a cup of tea. Hundreds and thousands of people have been, and are being, affected by terrorism, still we say India is free and independent? Corruption rules the country, still we say India is free and independent? A country in which political parties are free to hold the nation at a siege in the name of Bandh to protest against some mean issues? A sizeable population does not know where their next meal is going to come from, still we say India is free and independent? In India, freedom is an illusion. And unlike an elaborate hoax, this illusion is staring everyone in the face. At such times, we should look back at times when India was really free and independent, even if that was a long, long ago. The Wikipedia has this to say about that time: The Indus Valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from BC 3300 to 1300, was the first major civilization in India. A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture developed in the Mature Harappan period, from 2600 to 1900 BC. This so called Bronze Age was followed by the Iron Age which witnessed the rise of major polities known as the Mahajanapadas. The following 4000 years have been known as the classical period of Indian history, during which India has sometimes been estimated to have had the largest economy of the ancient and medieval world, controlling between one third and one fourth of the worlds wealth up to the 18th century. But what happened then. India lost the freedom to the East Indian Company and the British. They invaded

the country and the downfall of the Indian Empire has begun. It needed 200 hundred years of foreign occupation to destroy a thousands year old history of freedom. August 15 brings back all the memories of India's historical freedom struggle. The day marks the creation of world's largest democracy. This year we have entered into 65th year of our Independence. It's yet again the time to analyse what India has achieved in the previous years. And for sure, our hearts swell with proud, oozing love and respect for our mother nation. There are perhaps very few nations in the world with the enormous variety that India has to offer. I am proud of being born here. Every child born in this country want to say so. The people of India are rejoicing and celebrating in full spirit the country's proudest day. But it cannot be overlooked that there are still many areas where our country needs improvement. No doubt, there is no alien power ruling us, but it cannot be ignored India is still struggling for freedom from multitude of social problems. "Our country is suffering from wide-spread corruption. The youth should stand united and try to rid the nation of the deep malaise," says Santhosh Hegde the Lokayukth of Karnataka. Female infanticide, farmers' suicide, poverty, communal disharmony, child labour, surging crime and corruption are few roadblocks in India's successful journey ahead. The situation is really grim and we, as responsible citizens, should not turn a blind eye. For instance, India is a home to world's largest number of child labourers in the world. Studies have proved that improvement in educational system has proved to be an effective measure in curbing this problem. Sadly, if we look around we can easily find children being employed as helping hands for domestic and commercial purposes. Although the government is conscious and through proper legislation and welfare means, has embarked upon setting things right, poor children are still denied the basic rights in slums as well as urban areas. In a busy bylane of a Mumbai suburb a small hut like structure is cramped up with more than twenty kids working on fake handbags, which fetch anything between Rs. 50 to Rs 800 on the street. People who think they have a great bargain when they buy these cheap imitations need to think again about the cost of precious childhood that has been lost with the manufacture of these items In a country that loves to bask in its past glory and assume that its future is bright, its time to actually think about our future. Children are our future citizens; if so many of them are enslaved then can we actually consider our country to be free? Is freedom only a word and does it have meaning only for rich folks? Is India really so morally poor that we the free citizens of India allow the future nation builders to continue in slavery? One is greatly pained to see that in a country which gave birth to daughters like Rani Lakshmibai, and Indira Gandhi, a number of female foetuses are killed everyday. Though the government has recently come up with the slogan, 'don't kill your daughter, the state will adopt it,' in reality it has not been very sucessful in curbing this menace. I-day is a special day, to celebrate the spirit of being independent, and to make the celebrations and fanfare all the more meaningful, it is necessary to wake up and stand for the cause of our country. A constructive approach and commitment is all we need to relish the state of being free. The leaders of the country roam around in long convoys paid for by the people of the country and behave as if they own the country. Honestly, they are not far away from reality. Given the mindset of Indians, these leaders or politicians do own the country. That is why we

have political protesters burning buses, blocking roads, pelting stones, destroying property and bringing the country to a halt at the smallest of provocation. They can because they own us. India is not free. In fact it is going further and further away from freedom. In fact it is going further and further away from freedom. I have seen people argue that we are much better off than a few Arab countries and most African nations. True. But that still does not make us free. Sure we are less miserable that most countries. That we have better living conditions than some disease infested countries. Better stability than most of our neighbors. But all that still does not make us free. Freedom is a dichotomy. So there is no such thing as we are more free than we were in the past or that we are more free than most other people. Freedom is two fold. You are either free or you are not. Indians are not. India is definitely free and independent now, even more so on paper. But, a question that needs some thought is what does this freedom really mean. How long will it take before each of the citizens life is guaranteed? How long will it take to beat corruption? How long will it take to understand the real meaning of freedom ? These lines have been written by a person who isnt an Indian Citizen not on the paper at least but feels a deep connection with the country, and has thoughts of freedom and independence topmost in her mind. Lastly, I would say, Indians be proud, proud of our country, proud of our ancestors, and let our children be proud of us. JAI HIND!