Yesterday India celebrated its 59th year of Independence from Britain. So I figured this would be a good time to reflect on some of the things I have been learning as a student of politics. India's struggle for, and successful acquisition of freedom is best described with a single word;
peaceful (for the most part). Gandhi was a key figure in the Free India movement, which eventually persuaded the British to leave the Indians to govern themselves. It was the completion and adaptation of their own constitution, not a military effort, that marks the end of British rule in India. Rather than "war heroes" or "freedom fighters", Indians attribute their independence to teachers and advocates like Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. The constitution was written in a time when Gandhi's ideals of solidarity, peace, and equality were believed in by most people; after all, those ideals had just successfully gained them their independence. India's peaceful means of attaining freedom sets it apart from any other nation.
Unlike the US constitution, which was written to unite many separate and independent colonies, the Indian constitution took one unified nation and organized it into separate functioning states. The identity of the Indian people and their belief in their own political and social authority, which at that time must have felt so grand and intrinsic, was compartmentalized and rationed. By its very nature, the written constitution created boundaries on what was believed to a basic human characteristic. Looking around India today, I can't help but wonder if the act of dividing what was already united, and applying regulations to universal notions has left a legacy of division and struggles for power within the people and their government.
Today, India may be celebrating Independence from Britain, but I wonder when it will be free form terrorism and corruption. We have been in India for less than two months, and have already experienced riots, train bombings, and flooding. These floods, a result of heavy rains and poor infastructure, have killed more people than the train bombs. The government's poor planning, misuse of public funds, and procrastination may be just as criminal as planting bombs on trains. In the past year, 47 farmers have committed suicide because of irreconcilable debts to loan sharks. The government has promised these farmers subsidies for pesticides, fertilizer, and water; the farmers have clearly lost hope that these will ever be delivered.
So instead of celebrating India's freedom, I have decided to celebrate its potential. A country whose independence is marked by its commitment to peace and justice, must have a greater destiny than this. With over 1 billion people, India is the largest democracy in the world, and I believe its people will regain their freedom through unified, peaceful displays of their perseverance and power. They have already done it once.
