Friends,Happy Independence day...we cherish this day every year to mark our forefathers' struggles, sacrifices they gave to consolidate the scattered lands into a subcontinent of today's size. When I go through our history, I feel how painful evolution there would be not to get only political independence from outsiders but also to liberate various suppressed identities Vis a Vis societal ostracization.
We may flip through 200 yrs of subjugation in few hundred pages but narratives run deeper. I wonder how our land of innumerable diversities is today not only politically united but also biopolitically. I thank nationalists whether pseudo or real for portraying our land as Bharatmata embracing everyone in her lap.
Today I want to dwell upon meaning of "Independence". Is it to do with unrestrained freedom or restrained one or a freedom which conforms other freedom too? Perhaps we all will agree to Rawlsion notion of veil of ignorance to zero down to restrained freedom but ironically it is itself oxymoron. After all what should be limit, should the constitutional guidelines suffice which itself is subjected to multiple interpretations and directed as per juridical whims and fancies, though not always?
Further, are we independent of our self-obsessed growth marginalizing others? Why people are still hapless and dependent on so called mainstream society or government for their well being say for tribals, Dalits and all such sections who are left behind just because parameters set to judge is out of their contexts. Isn't it the same way foreigners intruded our land n started to impose their norms, here only difference is projected that we mainstream folks are insiders and we all belong to this sacred land but truth is we all are settlers except aboriginals? Here I am not trying to vindicate foreigners rule who too contributed in uniting us though it happened as unintended consequences. I am just emphasizing how we are not different in many sense from our past rulers who exploited majority.
Why are we not compassionate in true sense and still our policies are to make a big population dependent on government? We always shrug off these issues saying we are democracy of large populations and newly independent one growing amidst myriad of diversities. Bur if we folk of haves brigade think over these issues , we ll realize how selfish, self-centred we are. We want perpetual security of ours and don't want to share more than charity. Ironically we justify it saying this is the law of nature survival of fittest.
Coming back to mark our independence, we must come out of comfort zone and redefine it meaningfully to create an inclusive society. We must come out of ritual notion and share our space for others. I know no one ll buy this utopian construct but if we think for a moment we ll realize how cruel, insensitive, greedy we are and rushing in dark calling it growth/ development and way of true living.
Can we pledge today to change the way we are living and understanding meaning of independence? Yes, we can and infact we want but we all are victim of peer group and megalomaniac materialistic way of ideological life styles.
We may flip through 200 yrs of subjugation in few hundred pages but narratives run deeper. I wonder how our land of innumerable diversities is today not only politically united but also biopolitically. I thank nationalists whether pseudo or real for portraying our land as Bharatmata embracing everyone in her lap.
Today I want to dwell upon meaning of "Independence". Is it to do with unrestrained freedom or restrained one or a freedom which conforms other freedom too? Perhaps we all will agree to Rawlsion notion of veil of ignorance to zero down to restrained freedom but ironically it is itself oxymoron. After all what should be limit, should the constitutional guidelines suffice which itself is subjected to multiple interpretations and directed as per juridical whims and fancies, though not always?
Further, are we independent of our self-obsessed growth marginalizing others? Why people are still hapless and dependent on so called mainstream society or government for their well being say for tribals, Dalits and all such sections who are left behind just because parameters set to judge is out of their contexts. Isn't it the same way foreigners intruded our land n started to impose their norms, here only difference is projected that we mainstream folks are insiders and we all belong to this sacred land but truth is we all are settlers except aboriginals? Here I am not trying to vindicate foreigners rule who too contributed in uniting us though it happened as unintended consequences. I am just emphasizing how we are not different in many sense from our past rulers who exploited majority.
Why are we not compassionate in true sense and still our policies are to make a big population dependent on government? We always shrug off these issues saying we are democracy of large populations and newly independent one growing amidst myriad of diversities. Bur if we folk of haves brigade think over these issues , we ll realize how selfish, self-centred we are. We want perpetual security of ours and don't want to share more than charity. Ironically we justify it saying this is the law of nature survival of fittest.
Coming back to mark our independence, we must come out of comfort zone and redefine it meaningfully to create an inclusive society. We must come out of ritual notion and share our space for others. I know no one ll buy this utopian construct but if we think for a moment we ll realize how cruel, insensitive, greedy we are and rushing in dark calling it growth/ development and way of true living.
Can we pledge today to change the way we are living and understanding meaning of independence? Yes, we can and infact we want but we all are victim of peer group and megalomaniac materialistic way of ideological life styles.
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