Finding Freedom: An Ongoing Tale Since 1857
(The essay was awarded the 3rd position at the National Level Essay Writing Competition organized by GLS University, India)
It has been 164 years since, the first struggle for freedom and, it took us 90 years after that to gain freedom. A country that was finally free from a foreign rule. The British rule was an exploit on not just the economic but the social and cultural well-being. It sought to make paupers of the land which was known as ‘The Golden bird’. The people of our country were harassed to an extent that, a mere spark was waiting to flame the region to fight for its independence. The Revolt of 1857, is often referred to as ‘The Mutiny of 1857’, but it was not just ‘a rebellion’, it was the very first act of war on the British institution. It was the culmination of a multitude of exploits that were bursting to ravage the exploiters. The entire Doab region worked in their respective areas to overthrow the foreign rule. In 1857, Mangal Pandey refused to bite off a lubricated cartridge (the grease was assumed to be a mixture of cow and pig lard), he was executed by the British troops in Calcutta. This led to a chain of events with more troopers refusing the cartridges and given severe punishments. The unjust treatment created multiple localized rebellions in Kanpur, Lucknow, Jhansi, Gwalior, and Bihar. Although it was brutally extinguished, it had shaken the British Empire and forced them to reconsider their way of administration. This event had a cataclysmic effect. It was the first event of organized resistance to the oppressed rule.
The rebellion had many undercover lessons for us, firstly Indians did not have the resources and the means to wage a war against the Imperial rule. Most of the people engaged in this rebellion were soldiers and common people who could not buy the ammunition to resist the technologically superior British army. Second, these remained local rebellions concentrated only in the Doab region. Third, we could not come together and work together for a common goal. Many princely states and rulers, did not support the rebellion. Did we really learn from our failed trajectories of the past? Are we really free after almost 74 years of Independence today? Would the people who gave their lives for the freedom of this country, be proud of the nation that they left us?
The year 1947 brought us our Independence. A country robbed of its riches, divided by its caste, and slow in its human development. A malnourished and weak bird. It took us some years and bright minds to craft a constitution and nation that would support its diversity. A few decades after Independence, we were still riddled with dependence on foreign aid to feed its poor population. We relied on the Russians for the technology transfer to a young country. After three consecutive droughts in the mid-1960s, we decided to bring the Green Revolution which was catching up in other countries as well. This brought back prosperity to our land for a few years in terms of food. However, there are still internal and external political tensions felt in different parts of our country in the backdrop of this. The decade was the 90s when we opened up our country to the world. With this, we welcomed a new era of choices, freedom, and capitalism. Our ideas of freedom changed dramatically in this period. We evolved from a country that stressed the idea of the state to a more liberalized economy. However, the religious tensions did not seem to die down, instead, these were fanned out more. In a country that was opening up its door to manufacturing and service, politicizing issues were gaining momentum. The trajectory of the country seems to have taken two routes, one towards economic development, wherein our country is a preferred choice for business, growing in IT services and manufacturing hubs. And second, of a culture riddled with politics of religion and castes which holds us back. Of people being manipulated by internal and external forces which, holds back the development of our nation. Even today, the newspapers are filled with politicians who find agendas in the slightest of events in the country. No two political parties will come together and work for the development of the nation but rather, make political agendas to increase their vote bank.
In this 21st century, where technology has made us all accessible, our thoughts have also become more readable. The ideas of freedom have become individualistic, rather than altruistic. The British might have left our country 74 years ago, but we are still chained to the ideas of the west. Our individualistic ambitions, quite often are not in the interest of the country but of personal development. An educated youth from the country is most likely looking at options abroad to further her/his growth, rather than think of making this country better. And the problem is that this idea or this freedom is idealized in the society that we are in. An idea that we seemed to have borrowed from our capitalist American friends. So are we really free? Are we not, being indirectly lured into a different kind of slavery? Let’s face it, no country in this 21st century is likely to enter foreign soil with its troops and announce that you are under our rule. We have a confederacy of nations that will not allow it. So obviously, there have to be indirect ways of submission and fight for global power.
Today, the slightest post on WhatsApp or Facebook irks us. We are triggered by a mere message on our devices which forces reactions within us. It is extremely simple for a person to upload her/his views on the internet and spark outrage or create a following. No longer are the reigns of rule, being held by officers dressed in uniforms commanding an army but by institutions that are manipulating our ideas and thoughts about our choices. And this was still the case two centuries ago, when the East India Company, brought in the simplest of ideas, ‘Divide and Rule’. The tactics that were used then, were tools of oppression, which we are still battling with fervor and passion. Ideas which treated us like second-grade citizens, with signboards saying ‘Indians and dogs not allowed. Are we still not second-guessing ourselves when we meet someone from outside the country? Do we not have an inferiority complex when comparing ourselves on the global scale? So is our country really free? Is it not an ongoing struggle for freedom?
164 years ago our ideas of freedom, were independence from a foreign rule that exploited our national wealth, robbed us of our decency, disrespected our culture, and treated us as secondary citizens in our lands. In my view, some of these ideas are still valid today. We pride ourselves in creating brilliant minds, but are they not being lured away for better opportunities? A country where schools and companies, give preference to candidates that can speak English better. A mother tongue, just reduced to a secondary status. A country with myriad textures of brown skin, we still look at white skin as beautiful. Divided by religion, caste, sub-caste, state, locality, etc., working together is still considered fictional. People disrespect public property because they do not own it. A population that dissolves itself from all ideas of national development.
Are we celebrating freedom every Independence Day? Or are we looking forward to the day, as a national holiday? A question, which every citizen must ask themselves. Is this the legacy that our freedom fighters laid their lives for? A confederacy of corrupt politics, of brain drain, of regional and religious differences? Divided over religion, region, resources, and economic status. Do their sacrifices for the sake of our nation, not need a brilliant future? How are we free, when we are not pursuing prosperity and happiness that benefits the nation as a whole?
A country that is proud of its heritage and diversity. A country that invented zero, also becomes the hub for scientific progress and our best minds work on this pursuit. A country with blooming fields, prosperous people, and an environment which is again referred to as ‘The Golden Bird’. A country that Mangal Pandey, Rani Laxmi Bai, Tatia Tope, and many other freedom fighters would be proud of. A legacy of continued brilliance and splendor.
We have always named our mission to strive for freedom, ‘Swarajya’. We fought it using the idea when Ch. Shivaji Maharaj undertook the mission of free land and, we bought it in 1857 when we wanted to drive the foreign invaders away. So, the struggle for freedom is still an ongoing battle. One that is not visible but, more ideological. And that makes it all the more difficult, since we are being pulled on by reins, that we refuse to see, are drilled into us. The country and its citizen need to wake up from the stupor which thinks, that the great battles have already being fought for. It must acknowledge that our oppressions and the perpetrators have changed and, our freedom fights must evolve accordingly. That we must pick up the baton, in each of our capacity, and make this nation great again. We are still playing the field, to gain freedom!
