The Problem Of Liberty: Imagine that on Independence Day, you are in your car and going somewhere. And you come across a beggar on the side of the road. He seems to be quite illiterate, poor, homeless, and hungry. So you roll down the windows of your car, to say, “Happy Independence Day to you! It’s been 75 years since we became independent.” He heard you, and then says to you, “What independence?”
You say, “Obviously independence from the British Empire.” It has been 75 years since the British left and we became independent. He says, “How does that affect me? How did it benefit me?” You try to explain how unfair and unjust the British Rule was. How terribly Indians were used to be treated, heavily taxed, Indian wealth was plundered and taken to Britain, and many Indians had to live in pathetic conditions.
But since we’re under Indian Rule now, we need to celebrate it. He’d say that his situation remained the same. He doesn’t have food, clothes, shelter, job. How does it matter to him whether he is ruled by an Indian or a Britisher? He would’ve begged for a living then as he does now. You can find many such debates. These force you to think what do these words ‘Independence’, ‘Freedom’, and ‘Liberty’, mean really?
