It is the 79th Independence Day today, and the celebrations are in full swing. Once again the daily morning traffic cacophony is replaced by the cries of ‘Vande Matram’ and ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’; once again the Tiranga is hoisted in scores of residential areas across the country with people singing the national anthem in unison; once again patriotism is trending on social media; once again street kids are running around with miniature plastic Indian flags for dashboards and handlebars, trying to eke out a living; and once again the thought what freedom means to all of us, the wide variety of people constituting the largest democracy in the world, resurfaces in the mind. It is worth exploring, especially now when we are on the way to becoming, or have become, the third largest economy in the world and are recognised as the most diverse nation on planet earth.

Freedom from the British rule was an outcome of collaboration, wherein all sections of society—irrespective of caste, class, religion, gender and age—came together to fight against their oppressors. The declaration of independence, on the eve of August 15, brought hope amid the chaos and confusion of Partition. Pandit Nehru’s words held the promise of a new India built on social equality and scientific temper, where all stakeholders would enjoy their hard-earned freedom. Seventy-eight years since, it is time to evaluate how freedom has shaped the lives of these stakeholders.

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