A Journey Unfinished: India@75 has much to celebrate but the full range of freedoms available to elites eludes most

Source: The post is based on the article “A Journey Unfinished: India@75 has much to celebrate but the full range of freedoms available to elites eludes most” published in The Times of India on 13^th August 2022.

Syllabus: GS 2 – Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.

Relevance: About India’s democracy.

News: India is celebrating its 75 years of Independence. But India needs to do more to be truly independent, to be truly free.

How has India been democratic ever since its independence?

The Partition riots were a monumental tragedy that indelibly marked India’s birth as a nation. It was not clear then that India would survive as a country.

Despite that, people of various states are feeling a sense of national unity and purpose that overcame their religious, caste, language and socioeconomic identities.

All this is due to the remarkable achievement of our early leaders, who put in place democratic practices and made them into traditions.

How democracy is unifying India?

Liberal democracy has been a safety valve, diffusing the varied pressures emerging from the vast country. It has ensured that most battles are fought in newspapers, at the ballot box, in Parliament, and not in the street.

Liberal democracy has helped preserve the unity of our country.

What are the challenges India is still facing?

Economic inequality exists in India due to unequal access to public goods like education and healthcare.

Draconian provisions: Freedom fighters sought independence in part so that they could speak out, criticise and protest without the ever-present threat of being jailed by an omnipotent colonial government, using its arbitrary laws and police powers.

Yet many of those laws and police powers are still on the books, some even enhanced.

What needs to be done?

Need necessary improvements: Malnutrition and stunting of children need immediate attention. Similarly, the extent to which poor children fall behind grade level requirements in reading and arithmetic should be rectified.

True economic freedom can come only when most people can easily find decent jobs. So, India should create more jobs.

Need to aid religious minorities: Sri Lanka is a classic example of what will happen if politicians demonise a minority. The role of minorities in India’s achievement should not be ignored.

Institutional reforms: India should improve the quality and efficiency of law enforcement agencies. Along with that, institutions such as the press and the judiciary also are in dire need of reforms.

Gandhi feared that in post-Independence India, freedom for the few is never sustainable – unless the many see, experience and cherish that freedom. On our 75th Independence Day, the government should know that the struggle for independence is still unfinished.