Celebrating Independence, Losing Freedom
As we celebrate our 79th Independence Day in 2025, we need to take a moment to reflect on the meaning of Independence and Freedom. Do we really know the meaning? Independence broadly means the autonomy or ability to function without external control or support and applies to a nation. Like we got Independence from Britain. Whereas Freedom broadly means the absence of any constraints, the power to make choices for oneself, and it broadly means the various personal liberties.
I had always used the words ‘freedom’ and ‘independence’ interchangeably until I came across this quote from the book Our Last Heroes by P. Sainath.
“We fought for two things – For Freedom and Independence. We attained independence.”
– ‘Captain Bhau’, Ramchandra Sripati Lad, Leader of Toofan Sena, Kundal, Sangli, Maharashtra
This made me think. Every year, we celebrate “Independence Day” wearing our nationalism on our sleeves, without realizing that with each passing year, we are losing our Freedom. Every state needs some measures to control its citizens, and these are necessary to maintain law and order and prevent chaos. But when the state interferes with the citizens’ matters, then they are essentially curtailing the freedom of its citizens. And ironically, this is what is happening in our country today.
Slogans like “Har Ghar Tiranga” are handed out along with flags for Independence Day celebrations, even as the state and vigilante groups dictate what we eat, what we wear, who we love, and who we marry. With each passing day, our freedom shrinks. The control over our personal choices is tightening, and each time we accept these attacks on our freedom, we shrink the space we have to live as free individuals. The increasing instances of food bans during certain festivals, moral policing in public spaces, FIRs against citizens speaking for marginalized, poor, minorities, and tribals. The constant vilification of educational institutes and intellectuals of the country is all but are sign of curbing of our freedom.
The erosion of our freedom is not only about what we eat and what we wear, but also about our right to dissent. Today, however, questioning the state has become the most dangerous act a citizen can commit. In a country where scholars like Umar Khalid languish in prison for years without a fair trial, while those convicted of rape and murder walk out on bail at will, the message is clear: toe the state’s line and you can get away with anything, even the gravest crimes. But if you dare to question the government, you will be made an example of, to make sure no one else dares to ask. Read about the BK16 case, the story of 16 accused in the Bhima Koregaon violence case. It is scary to know the level the state can stoop to crush any dissent.
The control and interference in our lives raise a serious question: are we truly free? Many would object to even asking this, quickly labelling anyone who does as anti-national. What’s astonishing is the number of people who outrightly dismiss this, believing everything is perfectly fine. Indoctrinated by the state with the help of pliable media, some are content to give away their freedoms and are excited to curtail or take away the freedom of others. Increasingly, it is not only the state but citizens themselves who police each other’s lives: forcing shop closures, enforcing religiously motivated trade restrictions, and openly othering minorities.
This is not the way forward; this is going back. We are sliding back to the days of kings and queens, when the freedom of citizens existed at the whims and fancies of the rulers. We are a democracy, at least an electoral one. Though going by the recent revelation of “vote chori”, it seems we are not even that. When the very existence of our democracy is at stake, the least we can do is raise our voice. And for that, we must first recognise that something is wrong. We need to understand that dictating our food choices, our right to love or marry, and suppression of dissent are not isolated incidents, but an attack on our freedom. To solve any problem, the first step is to acknowledge that the problem exists.
On this Independence Day, when we unfurl the tricolour and salute it, we must remember the true meaning of Freedom. I doubt our freedom fighters ever imagined the Independent India turning out this way. They must have dreamt of an egalitarian nation where every Indian, irrespective of religion, caste, or gender, would be treated with equality and respect.
Hope this Independence Day, we not only celebrate our independence, but also resolve to save our freedom and reclaim it, before it slips away entirely.