There is a lot of difference between “leaving people freely” and “freeing the people”. Majorly, the government is making the system more dependable. The truest meaning of independence is ‘freedom from intervention’ and ‘liberty from coercion’. The system has become so dependable…that it has become quite difficult to imagine a life and a lifestyle without the existence of statism.
Upon achieving freedom in the year 1947, the system thereon practised a license-raj system. The factors of production were largely on the desk of nationalisation until 1991. These years India experienced Hindu rate of growth (stagnant development). Post-1991, India continues to experience statism in a much euphemistic way. Post-2014, the system has revisited license-raj system in the form of permission-raj system (Modinomics) and inspection-raj system (if you happen to question Modinomics).
Sadly, the nation ‘does not’ want to know how free India is?
If you dissent, you’re anti-national. It has just become next-to-impossible to question the government. The death knell of a sedition case simply waits, the moment one attempts to question or criticize the current government. From 9 [sedition] cases in 2013 to 58 cases in 2014, India witnessed a considerable jump in misusing of the draconian colonial law.
In fact, quite quicker than apocryphal GDP rate of Indian economy. In a span of 2 years (2014-2016), 112 sedition cases were registered. 165 arrested so far. Convicting 2 criminals till date. It is a new norm to misuse the law of sedition without understanding the meaning and application of sedition. The colonial masters [Britishers] introduced the law to grill ‘free speech’ of the then freedom fighters and journalists, but sadly it continues to intimidate and harasses the dissent voices.
If you happen to be female, while dissenting on social media, you receive a ‘rape threat’. This is somewhat the latest method to shun the voices that endeavour to speak for themselves, resulting into deflation of India’s rank on ‘freedom of speech’ index from 134th in 2014 to 140th in 2019.
Truly speaking, it is wrong to be right when the government is wrong.
The government has done a commendable job on ‘ease of doing business’ index. In 2014, out of 189 nations, India ranked 142nd. In 2018, she stands at 77th. But, on the ground, discourse on job creation does not find its adequate slot and attention. 350,000 individuals were offered pink slip in the automobiles sector in the last 8 months.
Unemployment is at 6.1% (2019), then it was at 4.1% in 2013. That demonetization proved to be a disaster, on the economy, has played a reactive role in the massive demolition of employment. The current government, in 2013-14, chanted a Reaganomical slogan “minimum government, maximum governance” to win the sentiments of capitalists and entrepreneurs, without having a sound policy approach in overtaking the contemporary predicament of tax terrorism and declining capital formation.
In fact, it impudently launched Project Insight to harass businessmen and taxpayers at the discretion of unaccountable ‘ineptocrats’ (bureaucrats). Such a consciously irresponsible step has further deteriorated the quality of ‘economic liberty’ (129/190 nations) and ‘enforcement of contract’ (163/190 nations), thus making the international players more sceptic of the functional side of Indian economy.
It is not an act of ‘urban Naxalism’ to prelude the government on the podium of responsibility and accountability. On the ‘social progress’ front, India ranks 100 out of 133 nations. On the ‘gender gap’ index, 142 out of 149 nations. On the ‘human development index’, 130 out of 190 nations.
This ratiocinates that the government has become quite anti-national against its own citizens; compelling people to often prove nationalism, sloganeering ‘Jai Shri Ram’, saffronising the social attitude, revising caste-based violence, and ultimately facilitating people to believe in the philosophy “If not Modi, then who?” Leaving no ‘freedom of choice’ on topics like Aadhar Card, self-determination rights (refer the case of article 370 abrogation), beef ban, and nevertheless the inflationary “internet shutdown”.
There is a dire need to measure the standard of Independence Day celebrations. To celebrate for the sake of it or to just feel a jingoistic orgasm on 15th of every August, intellectual honesty becomes suicidal. When the role of the government has expanded beyond its defined functions, it becomes a moral duty to undo the power of devolution. This 73rd Independence Day, the celebration is filled with the iota of pseudo-consciousness. We are today, in this epoch, more dependent than independent.
The beauty of India is in its plurality and fraternity, without which our nation would become a hell place of interdependence.