British Rule Post Independence: Are We Really Free?
Three days before 10th October 2026, India witnessed something that we had only heard about in our history books or in news reports from pre-independence times, or during critical periods like the Emergency or religious instability in the nation before 2000.
I was born after the 2000s, and I thought we had entered the 21st century as an independent country where people have the freedom to speak and express themselves, where we live under a free sky. But what happened on 10th October has made me question this independence and freedom again. Are we really free here, or are we again being imprisoned by the very people who are meant to protect our freedom? Have our protectors turned into villains?
Here, I am talking about the democratic government sitting in Delhi and the Delhi Police, whose job I thought was to protect the people. They are funded by taxpayers’ money. What happened here raises questions about the fundamental idea of a democratic country, which states, “By the people, for the people.” An idea that seems to have been proven false recently.
Many people would argue that this cannot be compared to the colonial era of India, and I agree that there cannot be a 100% similarity. However, there are comparable things that establish this point.
I think today, most parts of the nation are suppressed or overlooked by the rulers of the country. People are unhappy with unemployment, corruption, law and order, the national economy, and inflation. Everything seems to be broken today.
Anyone can hit someone on the road and flee. Taxpayers are taxed like farmers were during the British era, only to be beaten by the police in return. Students are not getting fair opportunities to excel. I can list issues from almost every aspect of life. Today, women are not safe, Manipur is burning, and trials feel like a race against eternity.
Instead of looking into these issues, our rulers have decided that the most important problem to solve is suppressing the voices of citizens.
Like, dude, you are the ones being funded, not us! Please stop playing games where people like us are accused of being funded by foreign countries. Please prove me right, or perhaps even that funding might be taxed at a 100% rate. You are funded by our money, not the other way around.
Every time these rulers have to divert the nation’s attention, they start playing with religion or caste. I am not supporting any party or mindset. I am here to ask rational questions and look for answers.
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In a free nation, anyone should be able to protest. Even our rulers used to protest before 2014, and at that time, it was allowed. The police did not use to place people under house arrest. There was freedom, but what about today?
If we are wrong here, please prove us wrong. Why have all the problems today started looking impossible to solve?
- Fair exams
- Fair Elections
- A corruption-free government
- Trials that lead to results
- Basic facilities funded by taxpayers’ money
- Safe roads, safe air, and safe water
Basic human needs have become a luxury now, which looks similar to the situation before independence.
I am not asking for a perfect country. I am asking for a system that listens, accepts its mistakes, and works towards fixing them instead of treating every question as an attack.
