Page 21 - Seniors Today

the country, not just the marginalised the crowd.”
or the disenfranchised weaker sections
of our society. That this should happen
in the year of our 75th independence
anniversary is a powerful symbol of us
having come a long way. There is a silent
revolution taking place in our country for
sure and a blooming confidence and self-
belief is driving its citizenry to greater
heights. Yes, there are severe challenges
facing the country like poverty, gender
and class biases, unequal development,
environmental dangers, cornering of
national resources and so many other
maladies, but thankfully an aware citizenry
is watchful and vociferous and keeping
the rulers (earlier it was the British, now
it is the self- aggrandising political class
chasing perpetual rent and sinecure, save
for the very few ) in some kind of check and
ensuring a modicum of governance.
Freedom is a generic term and contextual.
It can have multifarious meanings, but
broadly refers to the quality or state of
being free. There can be clearly no freedom
in the truest sense unless the four pillars
of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity
are strong. It means different things to
different people, with all its grandeur and
complexity, but the core remains the same.
Let us hear what some millennials ( I
had intentionally chosen this category
to speak to), across a cross-section of our
society, had to say to me when I asked
them what freedom means to them. These
are unexpurgated statements made by the
young of our country who are the future
of our country and have been chosen at
random.
“Freedom of country is a given. It is taken
for granted almost. Freedom for me has
more to do with knowing and accepting
myself wholly, even if it means not fitting in
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #38 | AUGUST 2022
“Freedom for me means easy access to
education and jobs; I don’t want to depend
on government handouts. I want to live
with self-respect. It is a huge challenge for
us to get there, but we are making some
progress in that direction.”
“Freedom to me means the ability to make
my own choices and to do what I like on my
own terms. The concept of freedom is also
tied deeply with the freedom of speech for
me and I value that aspect greatly. When I
think how India has changed in 75 years, it
seems to be a great example of how liberty
and empowerment has allowed common
people to ideate and contribute in building
a prominent nation.”
“Freedom to me is being free from worry
and anxiety of what I should wear, what
I should eat, what I should say or think.
I know these are questionable in some
context today, but I feel like a free Indian
woman who can make her own choices
without societal pressure.”
“Freedom (indeed true freedom) is to
live and let live, to dissent, to question, to
love, to practise or not practise religion;
essentially freedom is to be yourself
and still be an equal part of the societal
construct.”
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