Freedom Revisited

The beginning of nineteen fifties was where our journey begins. We got our freedom without much of an effort, thanks to things happening in the commonwealth in general and India in particular. Freedom struggle was noted by its absence. Upper class was behaving as if they had descended from England and the handing over administration to the local was just a routine. This is not a political essay but a casual look at how we went about doing things that were normal for that period. People born in this decade knew nothing about how good or bad to be under the foreign rule. I for one reason believe that we had our independence bit premature, especially the local subjects did not know what it meant to be exercising free franchise. We really did not have any understanding about the value of the ballot or the ballot paper. The citizens were ready to exchange it for a packet of rice. Fact that we had to use an animal symbol, namely an elephant to identify the party was another pointer to how illiterate the general masses were. I am not interested in politics that followed but only use political system as a reference to illustrate a point in general. Then again, I will not mention any names (except one) since that means I am elevating the particular politician to a higher plane than the average citizen. The intention is to look at at how we grew up and how the social trends made what we are today. All visible and global happening will be under the crystal ball, as it were narratively, without adhering to any moral or political connotation. I was born free. I value it dearly even though my freedom was restricted by my family interactions and village or city I grew up. It was nice felling all round which people born later won't understand. To me the sound of Sputnik in the space dawn an era of scientific inquiry and exploration to this day I treasure. Everything around was nice but there were some ill fates too.