Another year passes, the 63rd year of independence to be precise, and I cant help wondering what is the freedom that we are enjoying. Is it that the Sports Minister could make millions (or should i say crores) out of a sports event which the country should ideally be proud of to host, by giving contracts to entities that does not exists and yet seems to enjoy the freedom from being convicted? Or is it the freedom enjoyed by a Head of a sporting entity after earning billions out of questionable transactions from the biggest cricketing event that the country has hosted? Or is it a former Head of state's freedom to roam freely after being accused of murder, kidnapping and massacre. He was acquitted by the High Court of our capital for the simple reason that the prosecution was weak in its presentation. Amazing, is this what Democracy and freedom stands for ?
Am I being cynical? Maybe. But is it not also amazing that despite the so obvious corruption across the country from people holding the most responsible positions and governing us, to the traffic cop who regulates the traffic or to the official at the ration office, miraculously our country seems to be running like a well oiled wheel. Kudos to people like our Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh or P C Chidambaram, who have worked hard without expectations of reward to bring the economy to where it is today. We are proud to have CEOs like Narayan Murthy and Ratan Tata, who epitomises integrity and good corporate governance. We are delighted when Sachin Tendulkar, Vishwanathan Anand, Saina Nehwal, Tejaswani Sawant bring hope and pride in our sporting events despite the hurdles of politics. Our hope in the police force is reinforced when we see Kiran Bedi's reforms or the brave police officials who lay down their lives whilst fighting the terrorists who attacked Mumbai. I even admire a friend of mine, who works in Income tax who had during her stint endeavoured to bring income tax defaulters to book but also found to her dismay that these people were let off the hook for quite apparent reasons. Hadn't it not been for the selfless acts of these people, we would not be enjoying the freedom that our freedom fighters had fought for. But then, I like to believe that the majority of us would love to live honestly, working hard to live our daily bread and in peace with the world and nature. Jai Hind!
