Freedom is...

15th August meant a holiday till I was about 5 years old.
15th August meant India’s Independence Day + a holiday till I was in school.
15th august meant India’s Independence Day + a holiday + no extra class + no Communiqué work till this year.

Now when I sit and write this assignment, not surprisingly, I have to think A LOT. Of course when you get certain freedoms, you don’t think about what freedom actually means. It’s only when they are curbed and your are dependent on someone for even the basic decisions, you can actually write PM speeches on what freedom means in true sense of the term!

Yes of course Independence Day has more to it other than being a day I dedicate to my kite flying hobby. Thanks to this assignment, I would have never realized that you don’t appreciate freedom and Independence Day by watching Mother India, Bhagat Singh and Rang de Basanti back to back. Freedom now certainly means much more than singing AR Rehman’s Vande Matram.

Honestly, the concept of Independence Day has been limited to 15th August only. Media too emphasizes on it near or on the day only. We hardly think about it in our hectic lives. I hardly think about the freedom struggle unless reading a piece from history!

Freedom and independence for me is the option of having a decision making power, freedom to express my opinions freely, moving freely without getting frantic calls from near and dear ones, financial independence.

But then, isn’t the country first? In my opinion, India is truly independent only:

1. When a Saumayata dies and Sheila Dikshit says, “Who killed my brave daughter; dare to come out in open?”
2. When there chaunkidaar, who has a B. Tech degree, doesn’t have to beg for food every second day.
3. When the youth will not have to commit suicide because of being unemployed.
4. When a BigBazaar store manager says, “Ma’am of course you can carry vegetables and milk in paper bags.”
5. When the court hangs people like Kasab on 29th Nov itself.