The motherland India witnesses a milestone of achievement in acquiring its 75 years of ‘independence’. But with stepping into this threshold of the 75th year, Mother India cannot fully erase from its memory, the archival traces of inhumanity and alienation that she has gone through over the past 200 years by the British East India Company (1757-1858) and by the British crown rule (1858-1947). And this sadistic memory comes to an end with the beginning of the overwhelmed joy of tears, remembering the victory of the Nation taking over with the defeat of the brutal Imperialists on 15th August 1947. But while this memory only imparts the presence of war between the West and the East, there are a series of other wars related to ‘marginalization’ that followed in the pitiful life of the children of Mother India.
To explain the umbrella term ‘marginalization’, it is important to refer to those helpless people who are ignored, excluded, oppressed, dominated, or socially alienated by the mainland. These marginalized people are often left on the periphery or margin far away from the glittery and luxurious existence of the mainland or the centre. Over the years, the Indians have been ignored on the grounds of racism, class, caste, gender, and so on. To get this picture more explicitly, it is important to remember a quote from Manusmriti that says, “Animals, drums, low castes, and women are worthy of being beaten”.
But when the 75th milestone is reached by the Indians, there is a rapid change or a case of social transformation perceived especially in the role of the women from the periphery. The examples set in front of the country regulate big wins for the Nation or a unified zone of neutrality being created between the mainland and the margin. Earlier, ‘Independence’ was an illusionary term that was far-reaching and meaningless, in the life of many socially excluded people, but with the advent of this ‘New India’, there initiated a couple of new stories that unravel the essence of unity and freedom.
To start with the able and talented, dynamic, and hardworking personality, Droupadi Murmu who is honored with the esteemed position as the current President of India is a significant win in the history of Indian politics. Murmu is the first woman from the tribal community who has been elected as a presidential candidate. Before serving in the arena of the presidency, she was also chosen as the Governor of Jharkhand from 2015-2021 and earlier she also held various portfolios in the Cabinet of the Government of Odisha from 2000-2004. Basically, Murmu has an ancestral origin linked with the Santali community in one of the remote and silent areas of Odisha, where people have a very close connection with Nature and a very limited relationship with opportunities and developed infrastructure. From there, Murmu’s unconditional struggle, extremely hard work and recognition in the center is a sign of revolution in this secular India.
It is a matter of silent acceptance that North-East which carries eight daughter states is always ignored or kind off left in the less prioritized areas in India. In the present-day New India, there’s a gifted daughter of the soil from the same land, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, who is persistently making her countrymen proud by bringing medals and representing the Nation in various incredible international sports competitions. The 27-year-old girl Chanu, is a strong weightlifter from the demarcated boundary region of Manipur, who has bagged a gold medal in the Common Wealth Games, 2022 and also the silver medal in the women’s 49 kg category in the Tokyo Olympics, 2021. She is also conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri Award by the Government of India. Thus, Mirabai Chanu is another marginalized woman who is intruded into the limelight of the mainland’s recognition.
In the land of the ‘Dawn Lit Mountains’, Arunachal Pradesh, there is the existence of 26 different types of indigenous tribes, among whom a gendered difference has been specified in the earlier research and folklore where “a house is considered lucky if the woman of the house can make rice beer”. Thus, women were circumscribed within the domestic space and were barred from the men’s domain of policymaking. In the era 2022, these women are noticed breaking the taboo of staying within the private domain and are stepping in the country’s national capital, Delhi receiving honorary awards. Two women entrepreneurs Tage Rita and Techi Anna from Arunachal Pradesh have been given ‘Vasundhara NE Women Entrepreneur of the Year’ awards. While the former receives the award for the country’s first kiwi wine brewer, the latter receives for her excellence in handicrafts.
Another outstanding moment of celebration is noted from the bagging of the Booker Prize by Geetanjali Shree’s Hindi novel Tomb of Sand, translated into English by Daisy Rockwell. This is the first Booker Prize in the land of the marginalized Indians, where a Hindi language book got recognized and awarded.
To conclude, another major benchmark of ascendency in the year 2022, endorses the legal right of considering sex work as a profession by the Supreme Court of India. As a report states, “Sex workers are entitled to equal protection of the law. When it is clear that the sex worker is an adult and participating with consent, the police must refrain from interfering or taking any criminal action”. Sex workers were always treated as an outcast. Rarely, they have been treated as humans and their living rights have always been denied. But these vulnerable and disempowered sex workers have finally been successful in moving out of their dark and dingy lanes and enjoying an equal status just as any other profession in the new India.
Thus, this ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahaotsav’ gives birth to a new independent India, where not only mainland India is liberated but also the people from the periphery. We look forward with confidence and faith to making this India a united land and fighting all battles together against the enemies who try to hurt our motherland.
By Aninnya Sarkar