Seventy-eight years ago, at the stroke of midnight, India awoke, in Jawaharlal Nehru’s immortal phrase, to life and freedom. That moment—immortalised by our first Prime Minister’s stirring words—was not merely the birth of a nation, but the reclamation of dignity for a people long denied agency over their own destiny. Independence was not gifted to us; it was earned through sacrifice, struggle, and the indomitable will of millions who believed in the idea of India before it existed as a sovereign state.

As we mark this 78th Independence Day, it is worth asking: what does freedom mean to us today? Is it merely the absence of colonial rule, or is it something deeper—something that must be continually nurtured, defended, and reimagined?

The Many Dimensions of Freedom

Political independence, while foundational, is only the beginning. True freedom must encompass the liberty to think, to speak, to dissent, and to dream. It must include the freedom from hunger, ignorance, and discrimination. It must mean the ability of every Indian—regardless of caste, creed, gender, language or geography—to live with dignity and pursue opportunity.

Yet, as we look around, we must confront uncomfortable truths. The freedom to dissent is increasingly met with suspicion. The freedom of the press, once robust, now navigates a minefield of pressures. The freedom of minorities to live without fear, and of women to walk without threat, remains elusive in some -- too many -- corners of our republic. The right of migrants to speak their own language in the states to which they have gone to work is now being challenged belligerently and sometimes with violence.

Independence is not a static achievement—it is a living........

© Mathrubhumi English