It is a strange word or experience after almost eight decades of freedom from colonisers, who in all fairness have been accredited for bringing together kingdoms of the subcontinent, splitting them too, unifying with language; that thrust India a la Bharat ahead of many others after the wars.
Independence in all practicalities tends to mean inter-dependence and connotes wider intra-dependence.
For humans. from wanderers to agrarian settlers, had tended to specialise and continue so in activities leading to jobs, professions, management et al, such that literally we are intertwined bereft of individual independence as in family, neighbourhood, civil society, state, nation, continents and globe, economically and lately digitally, as felt recently in CrowdStrike infotech collapse that brought flights, banks etc abruptly to a standstill.
Whilst independence is a genuine need, one, none or all have no escape from group decisions to coexist within systems of governance opted for. That results in elected officials subjugating the subjects to political systems that unfortunately have proven to be belie promises. For, the general feel amongst the populace is that they would be better off under kingdoms of yore when the monarchs ruled over long periods with concern for welfare of all.
Societies were started to protect one from nature, animals and free from incursion to one’s life, family and freedom, with caveat of course that there will be compliance trade-offs for mutual benefits that accrue. The challenge is to protect personal rights against compromises to suit all.
Right to remain silent is a legal one, by convention or explicitly, so as not to self-implicate. Right to refuse to answer questions from law enforcement and court officials, refusal to comment or provide hints or answers to avoid self-incrimination are well established. Adverse inferences cannot be made by jury or judge. In the USA, the Miranda Warning compels to remind suspects of rights. Origin of these are traceable to ecclesiastical courts. In US First amendment protects freedom of speech, the press, assembly and right to petition government for redressing grievances, and the 2nd amendment the right to keep and bear arms for security and self-defence.
In as much as voting is to empower candidates and the state to legislate and manage, in India power in all respects is virtually hijacked through cronyism by parties and hierarchies, even after burying license raj. Feudocracy perfected in political establishments with progenies and herding kith and kin, is surprisingly copied by the justice system as Feudiciary packed with inheritors.
The call is on well-informed, committed activists to educate youth and nextgen to take up cudgels to clean up the ongoing wrongdoings to protect independence to benefit from it.
PS: Sad that our kin in Pak & B’Desh are suffering, failing to catch up, whilst Ramayana and Buddhist fame Sri Lanka is reeling under economic stress. A strong cricket team we all would make: men or women, apart from which the compelling economic necessity of unity in diversity could bring together all including Nepal and Bhutan, perhaps Tibet too, much like EU of Europe.
Marex Media
