Tagore’s reflections on freedom 'powerfully resonate' challenges faced by India today

By Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ* 

India cries for Freedom: Thanks to the relentless struggles and sacrifices of our freedom fighters, on 15 August 1947, India made her tryst with destiny! After years of colonial rule, she finally became an independent nation. Ever since (during these past 77 years), India has made rapid strides in every sphere, and this fact must be applauded; however, one must also humbly admit that, India still has an unimaginable long way to go in the internalisation and actualisation of her freedom! Today, India and her people, cry for a freedom from everything that negates the very idea of India. They yearn for a society built on justice, liberty, equality, fraternity, pluralism, harmony, dignity, integrity and unity of all!

India cries for Freedom from the destruction of the country’s democratic ethos and framework! The V-Dem Institute at Sweden’s University of Gothenburg in its ‘Democracy Report 2024’ says that India is “among the ‘worst autocratisers’ in recent years, adding that the “autocratisation process has been well documented, including gradual but substantial deterioration of freedom of expression, compromising independence of the media, crackdowns on social media, harassments of journalists critical of the government, as well as attacks on civil society; the 'anti-pluralist' BJP government has used laws on sedition, defamation, and counterterrorism to silence critics. The Modi-led government also continues to suppress the freedom of religion rights. Intimidation of political opponents and people protesting government policies, as well as silencing of dissent in academia are now prevalent”. India has also been named in the top 10 autocratising countries in the last 10 years; it is placed 104 in the Liberal Democracy Index (LDI). 

India cries for Freedom from want, poverty, hunger and deprivation: millions in our country, still live below the poverty line. The country still does not have any officially relevant, reliable updated data with regard to poverty. There are at least five different estimates of the number of poor people in India, which put the number of poor in India between 35 million and 375 million; between 2.5% of the population to 29.5%, based on different estimates between 2014 and 2022. In the 2023.The Global Hunger Index, ranked India 111 out of 125 countries with a level of hunger that is serious.

India cries for Freedom from the throttling of the right of free speech and expression. Most print and electronic media are ‘godified’ (lapdog). India’s position in the World Press Freedom Index 2024, was 159 out of the 180 countries ranked. The ‘Reporters without Borders’ (RSF), ranks countries according to the level of freedom available to journalists. The report declares India as one of the world’s most dangerous countries for the media. The right to dissent is fundamental to a vibrant democracy. Media personnel who take a visible and vocal stand for truth and justice are harassed, incarcerated and even killed! What is happening in Parliament (both in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha) is there for all to see. The Speakers of these Houses, make every effort to curb, to mute, to stop members of the Opposition from voicing the legitimate cries of the people. 

India cries for Freedom for Human rights defenders (HRDs), right to information seekers and others who take a stand for truth, justice and human rights. They are at the receiving end of a vicious and vindictive system. The are intimidated, incarcerated and even killed!  These include those in the Bhima Koregaon conspiracy case; Jesuit Father Stan Swamy is a case in point. He worked and lived for the legitimate rights of the tribal people. He was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on 8 October 2020 and died on 5 July 2021 at the age of 84, whilst still incarcerated. His death is regarded as ‘institutional murder’. Highly committed activists like Teesta Setalvad, Arundhati Roy, Prof. G. N. Saibaba, Umar Khalid, Medha Patkar and others, have false cases foisted on them and are victims of vendetta. NGOs who work with the poor and powerless, are denied their FCRA licence.

India cries for Freedom from the demonization, discrimination and denigration of minorities. This is happening today with frightening regularity. Minorities (particularly Muslims Christians and Sikhs) continue to be attacked and are at the receiving end of a communally polarised society. On  26 June, the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken  whilst releasing the Annual Report on international religious freedom  of the US Government, noted that a wide array of violence against religious minorities were taking place in India saying, “In India, we see a concerning increase in anti-conversion laws, hate speech, demolitions of homes and places of worship for members of minority faith communities”. The USCIRF’s 2024 Annual Report recommended that  India be designated as a  Country of Particular Concern (CPC), for "engaging in or tolerating particularly severe violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief".

India cries for Freedom from the pillaging of the environment. Fragile ecosystems are being destroyed. The landslides in Wayanad, the terrible flooding in Delhi and several other so-called ‘natural’ calamities all over the country, show how precious little has been done to address serious environmental concerns. Government projects favour their crony capitalist friends, providing them with a license to loot, plunder and rape the environment; the continued use of fossil fuels is a case in point. The Environment is in a shambles! In the 2024 Environmental Performance Index, India was ranked 176 out of 180 countries! The destruction of precious forest lands and bio-diversity, to cater to so-called ‘development’ projects, contribute immensely to the climatic changes one experiences today. The 2023 Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, provides that the de-reservation of reserved forests, use of forest land for non-forest purpose, assigning forest land by way of lease or otherwise to private entity, precious water bodies in the urban areas are land-filled, causing floods. Most major rivers in the country are polluted; there is over-dependence on fossil fuel. Even today, coal blocks are auctioned to crony capitalist friends of the Government. Sections of the corporate sector, and particularly the mining mafia, have no qualms of conscience in depleting precious natural resources, with the sole desire of profiteering.

India cries for Freedom from draconian laws and other anti-people legislation which have been promulgated without due deliberations and debate, with scant respect to the legitimate rights of the citizens. These include the Citizenship Amendment Act, the Abrogation of Articles 370 and 35 A regarding Jammu and Kashmir, , the anti-farmer laws (currently on hold), the four (anti-worker) labour codes, the anti- conversion laws, the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 , the Uniform Civil Code passed by the State of Uttarakhand, the ‘One Nation, One Election’ report; the three new criminal laws, the ‘Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita’ the ‘Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita,’ and the ‘Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam’  which have been made  effective from 1 July 2024.

India cries for Freedom for quality and relevant education. Many (particularly those from the poor and deprived sections of society) still do not have the possibilities to study and the opportunities for a meaningful career and a bright future. They are straddled with a National Education Policy that does not prepare them for life; they are subject to leakages in the NEET; hundreds of students and other youth, commit suicide because of the frustrations they are subject to.  The many millions of those who want to go to study abroad is a case in point. Education in India, it is evident, does not sufficiently prepare ‘men and women for others.

India cries for Freedom from unemployment. The youth of the country continue to grapple with  unemployment , with nearly 83 percent of the jobless population belonging to this demographic, as per the India Employment Report 2024 jointly published by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Institute of Human Development (IHD) The report (released on 27 March 2024) underscores a concerning trend where the proportion of educated young people, possessing at least secondary education, among the total unemployed youth has nearly doubled from 35.2 percent in 2000 to 65.7 percent in 2022.

Sections of the corporate sector, and particularly the mining mafia, have no qualms of conscience in depleting precious natural resources

India cries for Freedom from corruption. Corruption is today the new normal in India and is mainstreamed. Practically nothing can be done without greasing the palms of those at the control wheels. Politicians from the opposition parties are easily bought up. The ruling regime has made mindboggling amounts of money through demonetisation and the sale of electoral bonds (EB). The last General Elections were also about the manipulation of the EVMs and the fact that in about 70 Constituencies, the ruling regime won only because of their corrupt practices. The most recent Hindenburg Research revelations show that investments by the SEBI Chairperson have been used to amass large stakes in Adani Group companies in violation of SEBI regulations. Transparency International ranked India, 93 out of 180 countries in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2024. The BJP regime under Modi must easily be the most corrupt amongst the world democracies today.

India cries for Freedom for all Constitutional and independent authorities/bodies. These are patently meant to be non-partisan, objective, impartial, transparent and just! These include   the Election Commission (ECI), the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Income Tax Department, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the police and even sections of the judiciary. Most of those who belong to these bodies, today seem to have lost all qualms of conscience and are blatantly one-sided, corrupt, compromised, corrupted, spinelessly toeing the diktats of their political masters.

India cries for Freedom for Vinesh Phogat. This woman today epitomises the resilience, the courage and the strength of all women of India. Together with some of her co-wrestlers, she took on the all-powerful don of India’s wrestling federation for his alleged misdeeds. The BJP did absolutely nothing to take a stand on behalf of the victims; they clearly sided with the perpetrator. Vinesh was singled out; despite her prowess she was almost denied a chance to compete in the Olympics. She showed her mettle there – beating the world’s best. She was disqualified before the final round: many questions asked are still being asked. Today she is India’s national heroine; but she has had to pay a price!

India cries for Freedom for the tribals of Manipur! Since May 2023, the tribals there, particularly the Kuki-Zo people, are victims of an insensitive, divisive and ruthless regime – who have sided openly with the perpetrators of this current spate of violence. Hundreds of tribals have been killed, many more injured, thousands have fled Manipur or live in refugee camps. Their homes and earthly possessions have been destroyed; their lands taken away from them; even their places of worship have been razed to the ground. There is no political will on the part of the State and Central Governments to ensure peace in Manipur.

India cries for Freedom for all to live in dignity and equity, in harmony and peace, in truth and in justice, in acceptance of the other and in the celebration of pluralism. The people yearn for freedom to enhance the democratic ethos, Constitutional values and the secular fabric of the nation: For Freedom from untruth, deceit, lies and ‘feku-isms’; for Freedom from manipulated, selective and biased history. For  Freedom from hate and violence, from rape and killing, from extortion and corruption, from uniformity and monoculturalism, from authoritarianism and subjugation; for Freedom for all: the Adivasis, Dalits and OBCs, for the minorities and the marginalised, for women and the other Genders, for the small farmers and the indigenous coastal people, for the casual labourers and the migrant workers,  for the excluded and the exploited. They all  demand the freedom to be fearless and transparent citizens of our beloved land! As India yearns for that total freedom, we pray in the words of Tagore, from his ‘Gitanjali’ “into that heaven of freedom my Father, let my country awake!”

India cries for Freedom from every from of fear and insecurity. Fear seems to have paralysed large sections of the country. It is certainly not easy to deal with a brutal, vicious and vengeful regime. Though written in the late 19th century and in the context of British colonialism, Rabindranath Tagore’s hard-hitting poem on ‘Freedom’ is an uncomfortable commentary of the reality and fears which grips India today: 

“Freedom from fear is the freedom

I claim for you, my motherland!

Freedom from the burden of the ages,

bending your head, breaking your back, blinding your eyes

to the beckoning call of the future;

Freedom from the shackles of slumber

where with you fasten yourself in night's stillness,

mistrusting the star that speaks of truth's adventurous paths;

freedom from the anarchy of destiny

whole sails are weakly yielded to the blind uncertain winds,

and the helm to a hand ever rigid and cold as death.

Freedom from the insult of dwelling in a puppet's world,

where movements are started through brainless wires,

repeated through mindless habits,

where figures wait with patience and obedience

for the master of show,

to be stirred into a mimicry of life.”

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*Human rights, reconciliation and peace activist/ writer