The Second Freedom Movement of India

India, a few centuries ago, had nearly 20% of the entire known world’s wealth and it was this enormous wealth which attracted the innumerable plunderers and colonists from ancient times. The recent treasures discovered in the cellars of a South Indian temple are testimony to the incalculable treasures stolen from our country. The repeated onslaughts by the various cultures and countries left the majority of the population bereft of wealth and basic comforts. But finally, Indians managed to throw away the yoke of colonialism and fight their way through to complete freedom. Er... did I say “complete” freedom? 

Well, excuse the term “complete”. “We, the people”, have not yet attained complete freedom. A nation can call itself free only when it is administered by truly “free” people, systems and processes. To this end, we have failed miserably! One of the living legends of Kannada theater Sri Narasimha Murthy – popularly known as Master Hirannayya – makes a funny yet interesting observation about the manner in which India got its freedom in his epic play “lanchAvatAra” (Kannada: ಲಂಚಾವತಾರ) which attacked the social ill called “corruption”. For the benefit of the larger audience, I shall only provide the gist of his lengthy dialogue in a translated form here:

 “When did India get freedom?”

“15^th August 1947 at midnight”

“At midnight…! Who are the ones who are usually awake at midnight?”

“Not common folks like you and I but only the thieves and robbers!

“So, someone gave something to someone at midnight while we (majority of Indians) were all sleeping and to this day we don’t who gave what and what we have to do with it… so we are all just continuing to sleep”

          This excerpt from his play, more or less summarizes the apathy of the vast middle-class citizenry in India since the last 64 years regarding politics and corruption. Today, in India, corruption has become a way of life! The systems do not move without the necessary “greasing”. Why do the people in important positions like government jobs, bureaucracy, policy making, lawmaking, etc. assume that they need something “extra” over and above their designated pay? Who gave them the right to take extra while drawing a salary with perquisites as well? The answer is simple: WE! We, the spineless people of India, have given-in to the demands of a corrupt system created by corrupt people. We have grown up to believe that “nothing gets done without giving a bribe”. It is really sad to see the current youth throw up their hands in despair and give up without a fight. Even the so-called educated people have thrown-in their towels!

          At this point I would like to drive home one point. Don’t try to change the world or the system; but change yourself! As a great personality coach advises “you cannot control the things that happen in your life; but you can control the way you respond to them!” When we internalize this concept it makes us feel empowered to fight this menace of corruption. We cannot change the corrupt people or the system BUT we can change ourselves! If each of us decides to NOT give or take a bribe, that in itself, is a powerful blow to the systemic corruption. We may not see an immediate change. We may not see a change in our lifetimes. But we can always be proud that “I did not support corruption in my life”. The choice is yours!