Are we Independent yet!!

A very Happy Independence Day to everyone on either side of the border. In the 64th year of independence how free are we? I mean, I don’t want to get into the political and literal aspects of freedom and the connotations it spurs in our minds, I am talking of something more deep. I am talking about the relevance of Independence in our lives.

Since 1947 we have fought just 3 wars, the latest being in ’99 at Kargill. So does that mean we have been free ever since? Or let me just take my case in particular, I was born in ’85 so I missed the first two wars, also I read somewhere that almost more than 50% of Indian population is in its 20s so that means they also missed the wars. And most of us during the wartime were not directly related to the war like it used to be in the old days of ‘mutiny’ and ‘Satyagriha’. Now I ponder on the question again ‘ If we are not fighting any war, how relevant is the Independence to us?’

For me in particular, I feel that we are fighting a more severe battle; without any condescension to our martyrs; because in our case the enemy lies within us, there are no boundaries and no guns in this war. The war that most of us wage is between our hearts and our minds. Most of us are born with some talent and most of us have dreams. But as we grow older, ‘reality’ start to dawn on us. We realize along the way that being an astronaut or a cricketer is not possible, being a singer or a painter sounds absurd and it seems more sensible to pursue ‘safer’ options, obviously because we cannot feed our families or satiate the expectations of the society by following the heart. Right?

Practical and sensible makes more sense and seems safer. Thus starts a war which we all wage daily, day in and day out. Some people fight it when they look themselves in the mirror first thing in the morning, some people fight it tossing and turning sleeplessly in their beds and some, when they see some daring warriors win their fights.

For me right now, I fight it day in and day out and console myself by considering it as a prelude to the good fight. Till the day I win my own independence, I will not be able to celebrate and appreciate the happiness independence brings in one’s life. And for you, who is reading this, I wish that you too win your war for independence soon.