• Prema Jayakumar

More than seven decades back, a well-known voice rang out from the ramparts of the Red Fort. It said, ‘Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially.’ Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s speech went on in a tone of cautious optimism, speaking of ‘the greatest man of the generation’, Gandhiji, who did not take part in the festivities, and talking of his ambition of wiping every tear from every eye. While the new Prime Minister saw that a period of great endeavour lay before the country, he hoped that it would be possible to make real the dreams dreamt.

The pledge redeemed was the freedom of the country from foreign rule, but also the freedom of the people from hunger as well as coercion in the name of birth, caste or religion. Seventy odd years later, perhaps we should take stock of what freedom means and whether we do have it. A time for introspection for the generation that did not have to fight to escape colonial rule, who took freedom for granted and so don’t think specifically about defending the free society they are so sure of.

A free society is one where it is safe to speak unpleasant truths, where it is possible to be unpopular without physical fear. Have we succeeded in creating a society where we feel safe speaking truths which make people in power uneasy?

Franklin Roosevelt explained what the essentials of freedom were. He said, ‘We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression – everywhere in the world. The second is the freedom of every person to worship God in his own way – everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want. The fourth is freedom from fear.’ When we speak today of freedom, perhaps we should add a fifth – a freedom from lies from the institutions we are supposed to trust, including the media. Somewhere along the way we have lost our awareness of the fact that freedom is not just something to be fought for and gained, but something one has to keep on fighting to keep safe.

A free society is one where it is safe to speak unpleasant truths, where it is possible to be unpopular without physical fear. Have we succeeded in creating a society where we feel safe speaking truths which make people in power uneasy? As the poet Herbert Agar said, ‘The truth which makes men free is for the most part the truth which men prefer not to hear.’ This is especially true in this age when any news read or heard is to be viewed with suspicion. The news may have been created to make pleasant hearing for some section of the population, or to induce fear in some section, to underline the otherness of some part of the population, or just to take down someone who is popular then on the principle that if you throw sufficient dirt, some of it is bound to stick. And even if the facts presented are true, don’t we have to pick the audience to whom we relay it? We have to wait for an audience which will not find it offensive if some criticism is involved. So let us ask ourselves whether we have freedom of speech at all.

As for the second freedom, any kind of variation from the norm is seen as a threat to the majority of people who practise that religion. This is true of all religions. Tolerance within the religion is threatened far more than the tolerance of other religions. Yes, there is an attempt by most nations to see that the third freedom is available – freedom for want, from hunger, from disease. The fourth freedom, the freedom from fear, is the most threatened. One is afraid of so many things, starting with natural disasters (from Mullaperiyar dam collapsing and whole districts of Kerala being swept away to quarries making thunder-like noises), especially as we have treated nature with arrogance and can expect a payback any time. One is afraid of public opinion, of the opinion of one’s own social group, of the neighbour, of anyone in fact. We are afraid of the truth too.

So, on this day of Independence, let us hope that we remain free, let us hope for the old reassurance, ‘And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’