India�s freedom � a shattered dream � Dr Jyotsna Bhattacharjee

[Pradip Kumar Datta]

 India’s freedom – a shattered  dream
— Dr Jyotsna  BhattacharjeeIndia  became free of British domination due to the selfless endeavour of thousands of  our countrymen. Who can forget the contributions of our great leaders like  Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru, Sardar Patel, Lokmanya Tilak, Netaji Subhash  Chandra Bose, to name only a few? It was due to their sacrifices and untiring  efforts that India became free from the shackles of slavery. But our Imperial  masters left the Indians to dislike our glorious traditions. The situation now  is that we are neither Indian nor non-Indian– and we have no ground to stand  upon firmly.

Those forgotten great leaders paid a heavy price for  freedom–they suffered untold misery–many of them died. And we are enjoying the  fruits of their sufferings, without being the least grateful to these noble  leaders. Actually Independence does not mean anything to us, it has become a  kind of routine affair for some VVIP to hoist the national flag in presence of a  handful of dignitaries, under a security cover. Common people seem to be  entirely indifferent to the significance of Independence Day celebrations. For  them it is just a paid holiday–to watch television, or to go for a picnic or to  go to the zoo with the children. They are disillusioned and are fed up with  these hollow festivities and are no long interested in listening to the  rehearsed speeches delivered by our leaders. 

The old people often can be  heard grumbling that the situation was far better during the British rule. I  still remember the euphoria of the people across the country on that first day  of independence. People came out of their homes at midnight, when India won  independence. Processions were taken out, sweets were distributed and there was  signing and dancing by the old and the young. Even strangers were hugged  excitedly by the frenzied crowd. Expectations were high-and so were the dreams  of the people.

Within sixty years after independence those dreams have  been shattered to smithereens. Naturally those of us, who witnessed that first  day of independence, feel cheated and are disillusioned. Hence they have started  grumbling that things were much better in the pre-independence era, when there  was no violence, no corruption, and no hypocrisy. People could move around  freely, even at night, without fear. There was no apprehension of bomb blasts in  cinema halls, market places or buses. There was no fear of hijacking of planes,  of abduction or unnecessary killing of innocent people. Perhaps their grievances  are due to the frustration of the people at large, who were hoping for a  “Ramrajya” after attaining freedom, as the Mahatma had envisaged.

India  was divided on the basis of religion and the country witnessed widespread  communal violence and hatred as never before. Friends turned into foes and there  was bloodbath with thousands of people getting killed. The harmony amongst  different sections of the pre-independent India was lost forever. The Father of  the Nation was heart broken at the turn of events. He preached and practised  non-violence – he wanted unity among various sections and peace for the country.  But he saw hatred all around and himself fell down to the assassin’s bullets.  That was perhaps the beginning and now India has been torn asunder by violence  and hatred. Mahatma’s non-violent India has turned into a hot bed of violence,  intrigues and hatred.

It is true that India has developed an astounding  fashion after independence. None can deny the tremendous progress the country  has made in all sphares. During the British period we had only a small number of  educated schemes, people have become aware of the value and importance of  education–and more and more children have started going to school. The country  has a large number of educated people, excelling in diverse spheres. But we are  also exporting many who are giving wonderful service in foreign lands. We have  lost thousands of talented people, who could have done a lot for the country.  They are reluctant to come back and believe that they would not get all the  facilities here which they are enjoying in their adopted country. They are of  course right in their views.

India does not lack resources. The country  has vast areas of fertile land, wonderful industries and sufficient raw  materials. With all these resources in hand we have ample opportunity to grow  into a prosperous nation. The country has produced enough food–we have  sufficient natural wealth, enough technological, scientific and defence  knowledge–perhaps more than our expectations. India is one the most important  developing countries of the world, posing a challenge even to the super powers.  But all this progress has not been able to give us happiness. Most of the people  are poor and are suffering a lot. Babies are being sold due to poverty and there  is no ray of hope for these unfortunate people.

Our experts have not been  able to discover means to combat natural calamities. For instance, our State is  prey to devastating floods each year. This year too is no exception. Thousands  of people become homeless, some die, animals are washed away, communication with  other States gets disrupted. And we remain helpless spectators when nature  strikes lethal blows. 

That is not the only problem. The country is  reeking with corruption. Money seems to speak louder than words. You cannot  expect the smallest service, which is your due in these sacrosanct departments  unless you are prepared to grease their oily palms with your hard–earned money.  You may not be able to get an honest employee, even if you scour the entire  length and breadth of any of these offices. 

Terrorism has spread like an  infectious disease throughout the country and Assam possibly is the worst  sufferer. Life has become a dime a dozen. It has become so uncertain that you  are not sure if you would be back home in the evening from your office. A group  of young men at the gate gives us shivers. One is afraid to go down a dark  alley, in case somebody lurking behind the bushes takes pot shot at him. We  cannot go to a cinema or to the market with a mind free from qualms. Bus journey  is also not safe for us–nor is train or air journey. We do not know how to  protect ourselves from violence. Shooting, stabbing, abduction, extortion, rape  etc have become the order of the day. Minor girls are raped by men old enough to  be their grand father. Even a three year old little infant girl may fall victim  to the lust of some lascivious male. That is the situation in a nutshell.  

Some people, specially those from the pre-independence era say that  liberty has become a liability for us. What has it brought? Merely moral  decadence, price rise and violence. But that is not the fault of liberty. The  blame actually lies with us. We have not realised that to preserve liberty, we  have to make some united efforts. Freedom without responsibility is disastrous.  It is like giving a loaded gun to an ignorant child. We are pround to assert  that ours is a large democracy, yet we are not responsible enough to preserve  it. Our democracy has turned into mobocracy and it is money that rules the  election process.

There does not seem to be any perceptible laws and  order in our country. People are suffering a lot and the criminals are waltzing  around with any number of anti-social activities. The talk about a  corruption–free society has become a damp squib. Lack of responsibility has made  us a bunch of corrupt, unscrupulous people, who have no idea about how to  protect and preserve our hard-earned freedom. Infiltration from across the  border has posed a tremendous hurdle in our path of progress. Some are trading  freedom for personal and political gain. In place of the strong leaders of the  past we have a new bunch of clay-footed leaders, who have no other objective  except to cling to their position by any means available.

People have to  be made aware of their responsibility. The children are our hope and the destiny  of the country depends on them. Childhood is the most vital period in human  life. What is learnt in childhood develops character. Therefore, instead of  giving them career-based education, they should be trained in such a way that  they can be worthy citizens of the country in future. The parents and the  teachers should note that children learn from what they see and what they hear.  Every child has potential divinity in him and divinity should be made  actual.

India was famous for spiritualism, Renunciation was the ideal of  ancient India and it is also the need of modern India. Helping others around us  will bring us peace and happiness. It will also promote community well-being.  Hatred and ill-will can be conquered only by selfless activity. Life is so very  short – what is the point in nurturing hatred? It brings nothing but misery. We  must remember that one day we are going to die and power, wealth or money will  mean nothing to us on our day of departure. Hence we have to forget petty  things. Even a few good people can do a lot for the welfare of the multitude.  India had a glorious past; but unfortunately the glory was lost in the mire of  selfishness, corruption and cruelty. Materialism and modernism have ruined our  future generation. Hence spiritual discipline has become a necessity. The young  people have to be trained in selflessness, spirit of service and truthfulness,  so that they can lead the country in the
 right path in future.
(The writer  is former Head of Philosophy, Cotton College)

       
---------------------------------
Take the Internet to Go: Yahoo!Go puts the Internet in your pocket: mail, news, photos & more. 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.assamnet.org/pipermail/assam-assamnet.org/attachments/20070817/e4235bbf/attachment.htm>