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Independence Day: The streetside view
For some, it's a day of celebration or
simply chilling with family and friends. But Independence Day is
just another day of struggle for millions living on the fringes of
mainstream India.
Like 35-year-old Satyender, who will be trawling the streets of
the capital Wednesday, when
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New Delhi:
Freedom as an idea is no longer what it
was 65 years ago when India emerged from the shackles of British
domination at the stroke of midnight Aug 15, 1947. Today, it is an
exercise in introspection on how much ground we have been able to
cover towards being a sustainable, sovereign, fair, thinking and
developed nation, as envisaged in the manifesto of a free India.
It is a not a question of freedom movement any more; it is how
people manage their own affairs, says freedom fighter Rameshwar
Dayal. "For the first few years, it was well, particularly during
emergency when everything was on time. Deterioration set in soon
after emergency," Dayal told IANS.
The freedom fighter spent six months in jail - three months in
Delhi and three in Lahore - in 1942 for taking part in the protest
march in the capital, when he was a student of Class VII at a
gurukul.
Dayal advocates "reforms from top-down". "The crusade against
corruption is right, but you cannot clash with the government. The
solution has to come about with dialogue. Corrupt officials have
to be given a time-frame to reform or should be dismissed. Action
should be instant. The good aspects of emergency have to be
adopted once more," he said.
Writer and language activist Namita Gokhale says "India is a
republic of ideas".
"In a diverse and plural society like ours, real independence
comes from co-dependence and the ability to respect and
accommodate differing points of view," Gokhale told IANS.
Younger Indians like 30-year-old entrepreneur and gallerist
Anubhav Nath, the brain behind the Tihar Art Project, say
post-2000, the opening of opportunities in the country has been
phenomenal. "This is like a phoenix. What we are seeing right now
is tomorrow's history being made today," Nath told IANS.
"The country is maturing at 65, becoming a senior citizen. The
people of this country are astute. The corruption crusade is good
but the people involved in it have vested interest. We need
freedom from both," Nath said.
Freedom for professor Simi Malhotra of Jamia Millia Islamia is
"basically about an important historical and symbolic signpost in
our lives". "We need to move beyond this symbolism of freedom and
translate it in our everyday lives and see to it that it extends
to the margins of the society," Malhotra told IANS.
Malhotra said the "principally and practically all players in the
society have a big role to play in making the government
accountable".
Lalit Dubey, a white-collar corporate executive in Delhi, however,
advises caution against investing hope in the idea of freedom.
"Development on the ground may be a recent reality, but the middle
class is in a dilemma. Politics is a sham, controlled by a select
dynastic few, and we are being held captive by neo-imperialists.
They come in every colour," Dubey told IANS.
He added: "Injustice is rampant and equal opportunity for sexes is
a myth. Economic disparity and poor awareness have created a new
underclass, which cannot balance the legacy of freedom with
misplaced aspirations. It has to change. A new freedom has to come
from the empowered roots."
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