MEENAZ BHANU analyses that even after decades-long Independence, the people are still bereft of all the rights they should have in true sense and its adverse impact on our society.
15th August known as “Independence day”, is a day when every Indian celebrates nation’s independence from the British Empire. It was on 15th August 1947 that India had attained freedom from colonial rule. History books contain the details of how this movement had started from the struggles of every freedom fighter and their prudent steps taken thereafter. But back then we only read the books to achieve good grades in our academics.
However, the current scenario of India demands a thorough study of this historic movement. Looking at today’s affairs and the turmoil in which our country is, it raises question in our minds. Are we really independent from the evils for which the freedom fighters gave away their lives? The Indian Constitution gives 6 fundamental rights to its citizens but are we really allowed to enjoy such rights. Let’s analyse the 6 rights in accordance with today’s scenario.
1. Right to Equality
According to this right, every citizen of India, regardless of race, religion, cast, creed, gender or place of birth, is equal before the law along with the right to life and personal liberty. But are we really equal? Criminals under the influence of imperialists get acquitted easily while innocent and poor are being tortured to prove their innocence. Years pass but they never get justice.
The law turns deaf ear for the pleas from the lower casts or minorities or from the people who question the ruling parties on their vested agendas. Moreover the situation is such that it takes more than 5 years to remove the petitions laid on them.
This right has been abused so much, that just on the basis of rumours of consuming beef, a man is killed and to add to their grief the family is still fighting a case in order to prove that their own innocence while the culprits who took away a life roam freely. The cow vigilant groups are allegedly spreading violence and committing atrocities against the Dalits and minorities. People from the backward castes are being targeted as terrorists and criminals. Without even any evidence people are being targeted and put in jails for decades before their innocence is proved.
2. Right to Freedom
This right provides us the freedom of speech, expression, assembly, association etc… This right is enjoyed only by the politicians where they use it perfectly in their speeches through spreading the words of terror and communal hatred and or encouraging the chauvinist masses to be aggressive towards other communities. No law prohibits them to do that; but when the students in colleges or people from the minority community express their concerns on eradicating the evil they see in the society they are being targeted as the law breakers or terrorists. Journalists are coined as anti-nationalists if they speak the truth against politicians.
3. Rights against Exploitation
This right prohibits any form of forced labour, child labour and human trafficking but sadly human trafficking is still rampant in India. Even after 70 years of independence our governments are still trying to find the means to curb this menace.
4. Right to Freedom of Religion
Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion is what this right offers. Unfortunately, our government itself is the abuser of this right that is seen from the ‘Ghar Wapsi Movement’, which lead to forceful conversion to Hinduism, Madrasas being targeted as the ‘production factory of terrorists’ and churches being vandalized. All this happened and is happening but our government is still tight lipped with no solution to control this problem. Under the banners of ‘Love Jihad’, ‘Hindu Rashtra’ atrocities are being made on the general public.
5. Cultural and Educational Rights
While this right assures protection of interests of minorities, Rohit Vemula, a Dalit student, ended his life due to the discriminations on Dalits in the educational institutions. In his suicide note he said that ‘please give us poison at the time of admission itself instead of humiliating like this’ and “for some people life itself is a curse so was my birth a fatal accident”, shows the current pathetic state of our educational institutions.
6. Right to Constitutional Remedies
This right gives every citizen the right to approach the Supreme Court in case of any violations to any of their freedoms. How will a citizen get justice, if there are more than 20 lakhs of cases still pending since decades. A new case will only add to the pending list?
How can we say we are independent when we are not able to enjoy our basic fundamental rights? British initial approach was to only do trade in India, but eventually they developed political and administrative ambitions. But, the freedom lovers fought with zeal and defeated such ambitions. Today also the government, in order to be in power, has been disturbing the peace of the nation by bringing in differences between Hindus and Muslims through dividing them. Back then freedom fighters fought against the atrocities of the British Rule, today the general public has to open their eyes, and notice the evil tactics of the government.
There is no doubt that we got freedom from the British Rule, but this freedom is not yet complete in its true sense. The Evils still mongers among us in multiple forms. Fundamental Rights in the Indian constitution act as guarantee that all citizens can and will live their lives in peace and tranquillity as long as they live in the Indian democracy but we still don’t witness the real freedom for which countless fighters laid their lives.
We are not truly independent until minorities and backward classes get an assurance of safe existence and until our leaders practice democracy in its true sense. Until every citizen fully enjoys the fundamental right guaranteed by our Indian constitution we are not truly independent. It is high time we break all barriers to unite against all evils which are hurdles in our path for peace and freedom. Till now we have been treating the outer wounds, let’s treat the inner disease which has affected our nation. Let us unite together to make India independent in its true senses.