Are we really INDEPENDENT ?

I was thinking about myself as to who am I ? When I self-introspective a bit,  I realised that like every individual I am a person who loves independence. But when I actually looked outside, I found that this independence is a figment of our imagination. One question that came to my mind was that even after several years of independence, are we really Independent ?

During the formative years, I was under the guidance of my parents and was totally dependent on them. Their influenced has made me what I am today ! When I grew up and went to school, I was bounded by the rules and regulations. The same was applicable even for the college. At every point of time, I remember the quote, “Man is born free but lives in chains”. That time people used to say that all this will be helpful to me in becoming a good citizen and once I become an adult, I will be free and can live my life independently.

On my 18th birthday, I was very excited that now I will be independent and will make a new world of my own, making all my decisions independently. But, was this really possible ? Soon my dreams were dashed to the ground. All that was around me was blood and more blood ! Every sight caused me immense pain and every time I questioned myself, are we independent ?

Although we’ve fought for independence but still we are dependent much more than what we were before. I found the society to be very conservative, in reality it is not at all independent. Whatever I did, I was imposed to follow certain ethics and norms in life. The thought of doing something was always followed by the thought as to how the society would perceive me, my actions and my thinking. I just couldn’t do whatever I want because that can harm others mentally and physically thus making it rather difficult for me to take independent decisions. Every action or decision was bounded by the perception of the society.

We can never be completely independent as long as we live in a society. In order to be really independent, one should have the right to live their lives in the way they want. The society is surrounded by corruption and corrupt politicians. People are killing each other for no reason. Crime rates have increased and people are no longer feeling safe. Soon I realized that everything was not as good as I thought it to be, forget about being united and independent, even relationships aren’t valued anymore. People are ready to sell their families for the sake of money or even go to the extent of killing them for their own needs. Although people say that the nation is free from slavery but still, it exists in different forms. Out of which, the problem of child labor is very severe, children are abused and  forced to beg.

The society is also facing the problem of unemployment. People are dying of hunger as they can’t even afford 2 meals a day. Due to lack of education, women have been the most affected and been going through all the suffering and pain. They have been never considered at par with men, always been looked down upon.

Even today, bribery is still in existence. Everyone is aware of the fact that practising of dowry is bad and not right but still, it is widely accepted and followed at all levels.

We call ourselves independent and educated, then why can’t we break this conservatism ? We are still much dependent on the political system which keeps people illiterate so that votes can be controlled easily. We need to depend on one another for our needs !
Each one of us has been living a misleading way of life, where our likes and dislikes did not make any sense and had no existence in the real independent world. It’s high time we realize that each individual is a unique piece of art and must be given their birthright i.e. the Right to Live, the way they want.
Was this the independence that I had been searching for ? Was this the independence for which the freedom fighters gave their lives ? Even after 65 years of independence, are we really independent ?

(By Shivam Mittal -indianfusion)