Let’s reawaken as a nation to sing the song of freedom

SEVENTY-SEVEN years after its ‘tryst with destiny’, India has much to celebrate today. As the fastest-growing economy and the world’s largest pluralist democracy that has succeeded in lifting millions of its citizens above abject poverty over the years, its voice is heard with respect in the chanceries of the world. Its imminent rise as the world’s third largest economy, demonstrated scientific prowess, democratic resilience and an exceptional cultural heritage of harmonious coexistence are reason enough for every Indian to rejoice.

And yet, as we salute the ‘Tiranga’ in reverence on Independence Day and thereafter, we cannot forget that the road to national glory must navigate the harsh truth of unfreedom, violence and injustices that have scarred the soul of the nation. The heart-rending sight of a man dragging his wife tied to his motorcycle with none showing the courage to stop the horrendous ordeal of the helpless woman, the rape and murder of a young doctor inside a Kolkata hospital, the unspeakable pain of the nation and of its wrestler daughter who lost an Olympic medal over 100 grams of body weight despite her unremitting toil and discipline in the service of her chosen sport, and the forced migration of our youth to foreign lands for want of gainful employment, leaving behind old and often untended parents in the twilight of their lives, tell a painful story. Recurring and aggravated discrimination on account of widening disparities in incomes, shameful display of wealth mocking the poverty of the wretched, continuing suicides by the impoverished, custodial torture of the helpless and murderous police encounters in and outside custody interrogate our claims as a welfare and liberal state.

The economic and social plight of the elderly on account of their neglect by children who caught up in the pursuit of unguided ambition and material gains, loss of dignity of the marginalised even in death, the wrecking of reputations, privacy and dignity in the media without a meaningful recourse and social consciousness generally immune to the misery of the destitute — this is not the Bharat of Bapu’s dreams who, along with his compatriots, had envisioned an egalitarian society in which we could live in the shelter of each other, joined together in empathy. Heightened religious strife, escalating caste and regional conflicts, bitter political animosities beyond ideological contestation and the abuse of state power to settle personal scores question the health of Indian democracy.

Having celebrated the anniversary of Independence — the day when we unshackled ourselves from the yoke of British colonialism and were reborn to freedom — we must ask ourselves whether we have vindicated the aspirations of a free people for justice and dignity. We must also reflect on whether the present state of our democracy can translate into reality the vision of our founders and ask ourselves whether the conduct of an elevating democratic politics is at all possible without its anchor in public and constitutional morality, as the Father of the Nation never tired of reminding us. The need to repurpose the nation’s politics is compelling, and lest we forget the lesson of history, there can be no democracy without humanity; both are integral to each other. While we celebrate our freedom, let us think of the marginalised masses whose sufferings question our gains beyond apology. Let us shed a tear for their unbearable pain born out of undeserved deprivation, denial and unending injustices.

In drawing attention to the bitter truth of our reality 77 years after freedom, the idea is not to apportion blame but to correct the nation’s course for the future, as also to remind ourselves that the purpose of human life and freedom is to battle for succour to those bearing the brunt of misery in a life without hope.

While I yearn to sing the song of freedom aloud, I find my voice muffled by the deafening cries of pain and grief that ‘well up like a lump in the throat’. The reality of hunger, poverty, exploitation and misery of the multitude does not leave me free to exult at this moment. My thoughts take me to the tireless exertions of our founding fathers who sacrificed themselves so that we may live with honour today and hereafter. They now lie in the dark, their dreams unrealised and memories maligned.

Let us endeavour collectively to ensure that our politics is inspired by magnanimity, without being held hostage to the ‘vice of shallowness’ and is inspired by high purpose. Let us answer the summons of the ‘Tiranga’ and honour its command without appropriating it for partisan ends. Indeed, this must be the moment of national reawakening, to shed the intellectual amorality of our politics and invest the powerless with power to script their destiny. Only then can we sing together the song of freedom. Only then will the power of joy overcome the stillness of despair.

Views are personal