August 19, 2021
15TH August—a day marked by the turbulence and stoicism deep-rooted in the indefatigable veins of men and women who indubitably sacrificed their lives for us to cherish the pageantry of the revered day!
They handed us a freedom free of prejudices, blandishments, impudence and bigotry. Freedom was meant to be a purveyor of undebatable heroism, a smorgasbord of relative thinking and objectivity, and a badge of inscrutable morality. But, all this seems in disarray or like cranking a whip at the rationality of its being.
A country’s success is not defined by its achievements only but how it bridles the impairments of its cause and effect. Achievements are permissible for one to give a pat on the back, but what holds the country well into its tracks is its subservience to the sisyphean ground realities that encroach human lives causing ignominious pain and vulnerability.
YES!! It’s the human touch that our country needs to harbour to give credence to the invaluable freedom bestowed to us. When we assault the morals and beliefs of an individual, we substantially make humanity suffer as freedom gives rise to the resoluteness of mind. Thus, we need to challenge the following arguments that have ensued paradoxical liberties.
Are we free of the religious bigotries and uncharitable disparaging of individualistic principles and ideologies??
Minority vigilantism has been a discomforting feature since Independence. The ineluctable Hindu-Muslim divide is non-negotiable because of the prejudices staunchly pressed by the right wing entities. Partition not only led to heart bumping carnage where lives were callously butchered but the malodorous stench of blood incarnadined from coarse human bodies still flows poignantly in the wounded hearts. The palatable reason is that no effort has been made to rub the wound; instead political chicanery is engendered to recreate the black shadows of partition.
The intransigent Hindu obsession with cow reverence has enraged the Muslim from eons. Being a beef eating community, for them the animal is an object for slaughter and not worship. Eating beef is a violation in some of the states in India, which outrages the Muslims as they feel like second-class citizens for being dictated about their eating preferences. Dalits too have to bear the insolent behaviour and lynching for being cattle skinners. These kinds of polemic attacks are pejorative of the essence of freedom. The decrees of religion are sacrosanct and best prevail within the boundary of its believers. The moment we try to impose the strictures on minds that have not walked a similar trail, it creates sparks of communal tension.
Are we free of the denigration and subjugation of women??
Yes, we are not!! After every 5 years when the new government perches on the megalomania of power, we see animated slogans etched on dilapidated pillars, and ministers burling sounds from the loud speakers talking about women depredations and repression and ways for their glorious departure. But, the chameleon strokes in the form of misbegotten policies, keeping women guarded inside the brick walls for the fear of being mishandled by the stronger sex. Domestic abuse and rape cases still see an upward trend, insolently dragging a woman from the frying pan to the fire. She deserves a freedom free of fear—a freedom that emboldens her courage and is not judgemental of her progressivism and indulgence.
Are we free of Child Labour and Human Trafficking??
It is a shame that we still indulge in atrocious crimes like Child Labour and Human Trafficking. Selling women and children for sheer exploitation is an ignominious defeat of the privilege a human is born with—Freedom. To our consternation, as a country, we find it hard to bridle the vagueness of an act that is self-demoralizing. With the Trafficking in Persons Bill 2021, we do see a light tinted at the edge of the horizon. The cabinet still needs to pass the bill, which will eventually provide protection and rehabilitation to the victimized and salvage their freedom.
These are some of the issues that have presided for years but struggle hard to find a sheltering carapace to live without any bondage. Being the largest democracy in the world, antithetical forces are bound to be there but we need to keep in mind that we hold the ground for people with different beliefs and way of living. Aberrational behaviour of a sect trying to emasculate the weaker nodule should make us prepare for stringent laws to control the preposterousness of the mind. Freedom is like the bulging waves swimming relentlessly in the calm helms of the ocean. Any impediment slays it back to bask itself again, retaining the identity lost. Let’s aim to flow together and acknowledge each other’s presence—although, we look and behave differently but the freedom to live fearlessly in the backbone of our survival.