A Cry for a Free India

Many years ago, a great Indian poet wrote, “Where the mind is without fear, and the head is held high.” He hoped for a new India free from British rule: free to think, write, speak, and practice goodness. We are in a similar fight for freedom today. Dangerous demagogues and tyrants who stifle, heckle, ridicule, harass, and detain those who question their government have enslaved the free India. There is hardly any freedom to think or talk without being questioned, ridiculed, silenced, or sidelined. This wicked regime that intends to homogenize and hegemonize the people of diverse faiths, cultures, and languages must come to an end. 

 

When will India be free again? We hold onto the hope of a free India where anybody can practice their faith freely, where people can think freely, where people can speak any language freely, and where we can synergize and new ideas emerge. We aspire for an India where people are not stereotyped as terrorists, imperialists, or anarchists just because they choose to believe differently. We dream of an inclusive India with religious and cultural freedom and harmony. We envision a loving India where anybody, regardless of caste or creed, can aspire to greatness in any field of their interest.

 

We pray for an India that eats four healthy meals daily. We pray for an India where health care is equally available for all –rich and poor. We pray for an India where the government schools are better than the private ones. We pray for an India where essential commodities like Petroleum products, Electricity, Clothes, and Food are affordable. We pray for an India where the income disparity between the wealthy and the poor middle class decreases daily. We pray for an India where farmers and traders are happy, not depressed and suicidal. We pray for an India where women and children are safe. We pray for an India where politicians and police are not corrupt.

 

Before we cast our votes, let us examine the last ten years. 1. Demonetisation– It was a futile exercise to throw the dust into people’s eyes. 2. Faulty implementation of GST– All of us will do well to remember the troubles it caused every business institution. 3. Rising prices of Petrol, Diesel, and LPG and their impact on the prices of other essential commodities. 4. Income disparity and Electoral Bonds scam –Billionaires increased their wealth by 40%, and the middle class became poorer. Until the Supreme Court ordered it, nobody knew about the government's electoral bond scam. The following are my views on the electoral bonds from the information I gathered from watching some SC hearings online. 

 

To illustrate this scam, I will use a demonstration with five individuals. The first is an industrialist who wants to curry favor with the ruling party. The second is the banker who acts as the middle-man –the only person who knows who received the funds from whom. The third is the ruling party person. The fourth is the opposition team person. Finally, the owner of a shell company that makes consistent losses to its owner. To illustrate, let us name them A, B, C, D, and E, respectively. 

 

Suppose A needs some favor from C. He does not need to use any black money anymore to bribe C. A can use his white money in plain sight to do this wrong and get away with it safely. All he needs to do is to purchase electoral bonds from B using E. Even if A is exposed because of his relationship with E, he can deny his involvement and be safe. B cannot be charged quid-pro-quo because he does not receive the money directly. If we dig its depths, it could be this century's biggest legislated crime –a daylight robbery.

 

5. Farming laws and loss of farmers' lives due to lack of MSP and inability to repay loans. Farmer suicide rates are now at an all-time high of 30 farmers daily. Note that farmers form 50% of our country. What appalls me is how the government rudely deterred the farmers from entering New Delhi to report their protest. The government placed iron thorns and nails in their path, ruining their tractors and vehicles. Not only are they insensitive to the people’s plight, but they also show outright cruelty to the Annadata. 

 

6. Foreign Direct Investment and Covid-time loans and rents have ruined the smaller traders. The government boasts of selling Indian products in the developed world. However, it comes at a cost. India must allow them to do business in our country for a lower tax. How can a small Indian trader compete with a powerful and wealthy company brand? Suppose the government allows them to do their business for a lower tax. In that case, they can sell their products competitively and ruin the Indian trader. That is why, though many of these small traders do not know how to articulate what is affecting their business, they can feel the loss. Many left their business, and some died by suicide.

 

Some might argue that Indian businesses are also getting promoted in the developed world due to this FDI favor we extend to international companies. Are we also not selling our indigenous products in the international markets and increasing our foreign currency hold? Is it not helping our overall growth and GDP? I ask such observers, “Who is the Indian businessman doing business internationally?” No small trader in this country has the money or power to market their products internationally. Only the billionaires and multi-millionaires benefit from this reciprocal effect. I ask such observers, “Is it not the duty of our elected government to protect the rights of our local traders?”

 

We need a Prime Minister who will champion the cause of the commoners of this country, not somebody who will stand with and for the elite class only. We need a Prime Minister whose ambition will be the welfare of every Indian man: farmer, laborer, professional, and small trader. We don’t need someone who will give us only fast trains and beautiful temples that cater only to the affluent class. The rich have money to travel by these luxurious trains and time to devote to the temples. A commoner has many troubles. He needs cheaper conveyance, and his work is his worship place. As I write this, I am thinking of my father, a small Hindu Baniya trader, and the struggles he faces every day.