Independence........

At the stroke of midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will rise to life and freedom……

15/08/2011. Today’s the sixty fifth independence day. I am sure everyone must have woken up with patriotic songs being played in their respective building terraces. Most of us must have witnessed the Indian flag being unfurled at every colony. But has India really achieved Independence? Does every citizen of this grossly populated country experience freedom?

Early last week, the Mumbai-Pune expressway was closed for a few days. But how many of us know the reason behind this? Police firing in the Maval region, located between Mumbai and Pune, resulted in the death of three protesters. Reason of protest? The government decided that all the water from the Pavana dam would get diverted to the industrial township of
Pimpri-Chinchwad instead of facilitating farming in the nearby villages like Maval. The government gave priority to the industrial development (which I doubt happens!) in the town of Pimpri-Chinchwad, thus, allowing the paddy and sugarcane fields in the nearby villages to turn barren. The government, to meet the extra needs of the urban areas, kicked into the only livelihood of the people in the rural areas nearby. These fields would be without any source of water till next monsoons. The government has not met up with any consolation for the farmers. They are left with no other alternative except selling their land and migrating to some other region. Three deaths. Three grieving families. These didn’t even have the freedom to protest.

Sadly, this aspect is very common with the farmers and other working class people. 95% of farmers in India have lost large parts of their lands to some project in the name of development, without any compensation. These farmers have no choice. Either to suffer and then commit suicide or fight and then get killed in the hands of people who misunderstand their authority!

Is this the Life and Freedom India was going to rise to?

Numerous people sacrificed their lives for Independent India. Numerous people still do. Several soldiers guard the boundaries of our country day and night to safeguard our independence. Many commandos stay on high alert to fight every terrorist activity so that people like you and me can experience freedom.

But think about this. Read the newspapers. Roam through streets. Have we really become INDEPENDENT? Has India reached the pinnacle where all the martyrs dreamt it to reach? Did Mahatma Gandhi march for miles only to see that India now is hoping on an Anna Hazare to break the handcuffs of corruption? Did Sardar Patel bring together an unified India just to see it again being tangled on the grounds of religion and race? Did Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru die to again see the death of every revolutionary who stood for his rights? Did Jhansi ki Rani Laxmibai exhibit unseen bravery only to see that even now, girls aren’t safe in her country?

There are numerous questions. What has so drastically changed in the last sixty five years of independence?

Still I would not belittle India. I am proud to be an Indian. Because this is my identity.

Our independence, our freedom is in our hands. Safeguard it well.