Happy Independence

At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. – said Jawaharlal Nehru, our then Prime Minister. Little did he realize that these words would be prophetic in a way.

66 years down, when the world sleeps, India is still awake to life but not to freedom, but for working away in the night shift for some other country, some other economy. Getting trained to ensure they get the best “Service” grossly neglecting the needs of our own country, our own brethren. And mind you, this is now also hurting their economy, badly.

We will soon be celebrating (or at least pretend to celebrate) our 67^th Independence Day.  So let’s delve in understanding the true meaning of independence. Not at a political level, but in our day-to-day lives.

In the morning, we’re dependent on the alarm clock to wake us up.

We’re depending on the electricity to heat the water for a nice shower.
We depend on the water board to ensure we have water in our taps.
You’re getting the gist. These days, we’re blissfully dependent on Facebook to remind us of our “Friends’” birthdays.

Ok jokes apart, as a system, we’ve ensured we all stay dependent on each other; Family, society, community, etc. The fear of failure and the fact that we might need someone else’s help at sometime, makes us a slave to “their” expectations.

There are answers in other cultures, not in totality but if we get the essence, maybe. Let’s look at one such observation. 

In the western culture, parents ensure the kids are independent and that they fend for themselves once they turn 18 (16 in some countries). Parenting and education system will need to undergo a paradigm shift. We don't need to blindly ape it but tweak it in a meaningful way and adapt.
By the way, this is what nature’s taught us and keeps teaching. However, if any parent were to do that here, they would be brandished irresponsible and selfish. Apologize if I’m being judgemental here. After all, I’m a part of this system.

We feed dependence and the thought of freedom gives us the jitters. I’m not saying, this is the answer to our problems. But it’s time we change, one baby step at a time (pun intended).

I don’t want to list them but I’ll let you think of how we behave with our people (friends and family). Think of all the situations where you’ve felt really truly independent. I bet you can’t. Even if you do think of one such situation, it will hit you with a sense of guilt too.

Also, think of all the situations where you’ve thought maybe if you let loose, one of your kith and kin might get out of your “Control”. This is extended to our workplace as well, whatever the career/industry is. We proudly do that in the guise of responsibility.

Despite having a mass (population), despite having the push (ability), we’re unable to gather momentum / velocity for growth.  Be it in sports, be it in entrepreneurial skills or in design and innovation.

Countless historic events and personalities have all shown us, if we take adversity in our stride with determination and a rock solid attitude, we can rise like a phoenix from the ashes. We all see and smell the ashes. It’s time we all beat our wings together, break away from the shackles of old school thoughts, add to the knowledge and culture and truly rise like a phoenix.

Let’s attempt to breathe independence and freedom in its true form.