By Dr Jeanette Pinto –
On the eve of 15th August 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru addressed the Constituent assembly at the Parliament, delivering his famed eloquent speech, Tryst with Destiny, announcing India’s freedom at midnight. He said, “At the stroke of midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.” The announcement raised the spirits of all Indians over the country, the realisation of a dream to be a free nation, free from oppression and domination under foreign rule. It was a historic day as India finally shook off the shackles of British rule and became free. So Freedom! What does it means to me.
God’s gift to mankind is this beautiful universe, and He placed human beings therein to create a Paradise of love, harmony, peace, justice, equality, caring, compassion and cooperation. He freely gave to mankind the gift of life and especially the intellect so that man has the choice to make decisions on his own. So what freedom means to me is, to enjoy life in all its fullness. Our freedom was purchased with the high price of sacrifice of human life, but people today by their arrogance, greed, position and power have upset this delicate balance in God’s world.
One can define freedom politically, religiously, economically, socially and also personally. When we say that we have the ability to do things as we desire by wisdom, we call it personal freedom. To a young adult freedom may mean being free from the controls of their parents, teachers and superiors. Any control gives a feeling of suffocation. Freedom does not mean being free from everything, it means utilising given opportunities properly by not violating any rules and not harming others. One can be happy enjoying freedom in doing little things, like helping someone in need, going for a walk in the park, watering the garden and so on.
Freedom to me means the power to speak, act or think unrestrained. It is to be independent, to make your own decisions and have the freedom of choice, expression and opinion, the freedom to express gratitude, joy, and happiness; to live deeply connected with myself, my loved ones, and with God. Connection is always there, whether in solitude, ill health, or when in difficulty.
Freedom really starts with the principle of self-control. Nobody has the right to inflict offensive harm on others therefore freedom includes self-defence because it empowers people to fight for their right. Freedom to me means existing with respect and dignity amidst diversity. We need to respect others’ rights, to think and act as they like without coercion. Everyone is unique and different. We can express our differences because of our freedom and thus create different opportunities, platforms for expression, friendship, career options, expand and improve our lives.
Seventy three years later Independence Day is a national celebration of liberty and freedom, a day of glamour, glitz and glory which melts into oblivion as soon as we move on to the next day. The rest of the year simply witnesses starvation, hunger, disease, hatred, rivalry, and oppression of sorts, tortures, lynching, killings, murders, and other inhuman an acts being perpetrated. How then have we become free? Where are joy, peace and happiness to be found in this horrible culture of violence that is prevalent? This is not what freedom means to me.
The reality! Thousands of our fellow Indians are languishing in ill-equipped jails, dilapidated hospitals, homes and sanatoriums due to conspiracies, hate crimes, intimidation and political jingoism? Thousands are prisoners of fear and silence, struggling with alternatives. Human life is cheap! The brutal killings, rape deaths, political murders and vendetta are all around. Only a minuscule section of society lives in luxury with plenty of ill-gotten wealth and tons of corruption. Is that the Freedom we desired for our motherland? Did our freedom fighters through boy-cotts, sit-ins, demonstrations and marches voice the peoples cry for this freedom? Freedom isn’t just a word, it is an action. Where are the many freedoms? The freedom to speak, to worship, to choose and to pursue what one wants to do. Independence makes us equal and free.
What about human rights, the rights of children, of women, minorities, indigenous peoples like the tribal, Dalits? Have we lost sight of the ‘dignity of the human person’? The empty talk of economic development, smart cities, Incredible India! Is this mere rhetoric? Is India in the progressive or regressive mode? How can poverty stricken people be happy? Basic necessities, fundamental values of liberty, equality, justice, tolerance, respect for humans and nature are non-existent? What kind of anti-life creatures are we to hurl abuses, to hack, decapitate and kill, to plunder, murder, torture and butcher our fellow Indians? Man’s greed and self-centeredness has even crippled the earth. We have lost sight of the social, economic and environmental pillars of sustainable development. We are left to wonder and merely ponder, that’s the reality. But we have Hope to face these and newer realities.
Freedom to me means to see joy, laughter and happiness on the faces of all our peoples who enjoy the basic necessities of food, shelter and clothing; including the poorest of our country. It is for me to know that every Indian child receives a basic education; and that the air resonates with the laughter of young men and women who are provided job opportunities. It is for the girl child and women to be empowered and not to be sexually abused. For me it is that orphan children, the differently abled, the widow and the elderly are not treated as rejects of society, but with respect, love and care. Let’s not forget those who left indelible memories in their fight for Independence.
Everybody wants to live in peace and harmony. There’s no Peace without freedom. The Feast of Mary’s Assumption falls on the same day as our Independence Day, she is truly our hope and we need to invoke her blessings and grace on this special day.
Dr Jeanette Pinto, an educator for the past 5 decades, headed the Department of History was Vice Principal of St. Xavier’s College Mumbai, and retired as Principal of Sophia College, Mumbai. She is a counsellor and conductor of Personal Enrichment Programmes for students and teachers.
She set up the Human Life Committee in the Archdiocese of Bombay. As a sex educator she has given talks on Human Sexuality in India and abroad. In 2014 she received the Rachana Outstanding Woman of the Year for her Pro-life work presented by the Diocese of Mangalore. She has attended many National and International Pro-life conferences and given talks at other fora on various women’s issues.
She is author of a couple of books, her most recent ones are titled: I’m Pro-Life Are you? & Sex Talk: Parent to Child. She has also written a number of articles on a variety of themes and subjects, which have been published in research journals, The Examiner and other Catholic publications.