By Mohan Sundar Rajan
As India nears the Diamond Jubilee of its independence, I thought I should reflect upon what independence means to me.
There is a Moral Re-Armament Association (MRA) song that says:
“Freedom isn’t free
Freedom isn’t free
You got to pay the price
You got to sacrifice
For your liberty”
Truly, words of wisdom.
I have been to the Cellular Jail in the Andamans. Today we look at Britain as the torchbearer of independent thought and action but in actuality in the Cellular Jail you are reminded painfully of the abject torture that Indians were subject to. Some of our freedom fighters who were thrown into this jail earned us independence by even laying down their lives in those inhuman conditions.
Independence means wild animals should own forests without man invading their lives, independence and privacy.
Society should be egalitarian with the likes of Prince Charles co-existing with the humble and nimble Mumbai dabbawalah.
There should be right to abortion, irrespective of what religion says, if it threatens the life of mother or foetus.
Countries should work towards nuclear disarmament so that there is freedom from fear of a holocaust and, better still, no possibility of a holocast.
Gandhiji said people should be able to live without fear of their houses being robbed at night or day, policing being kept to a minimum. No locks or latches or CCTVs for me … true independence.
No teen talaak or 4 wives
Women to be allowed into “sanctum sanctorum” even during their inconvenient physical cycles.
The Dalai Lama, who had to leave Tibet and seek shelter in Dharamshala in India due to Chinese oppression, to be welcomed back by China.
Never ever any internal Emergencies like the one Mrs Indira Gandhi declared, putting hundreds of thousands of Indian citizens behind bars. In fact, there should be an amendment to the Constitution preventing this from ever re-happening.
(Mumbai-based Mohan Rajan is a keen observer of political ups and downs and proud son of noted journalist / columnist the late Sundar Rajan.)