Take these two words, Independence and Freedom. They sound similar, but there’s a stark difference between the two words. Because if Bhagat Singh and Gandhi are to be believed, though our country is Independent, still, we need to go a long way to be Free. 15th August 1947. Our country got independence from the British Empire. About 2.5 years later, on 26th January 1950, India adopts its Constitution. And India became a Republic officially.
Then between October 1951 to February 1952, the first Indian general elections were held. And India got its first democratically elected government. And the country became an Independent Republic Democracy. This might sound like the climax of total independence and freedom. But here, Bhagat Singh comes into the picture. In his 1931 pamphlet, Bhagat Singh had written, That political revolution doesn’t mean that we take the rule from the British Empire and hand it over to the Indians.
Not so simple. Our final purpose here is to achieve an economic liberty of the masses. Had Bhagat Singh been alive around 1952, his fight wouldn’t have ended at that. His true aim was to achieve economic liberty. To understand what it means let’s get back to the example of the beggar. You listen to what the beggar has to say and suggest that he finds a job first.
