Freedom — A misunderstanding

A survey by The Indian Express presented that more than 50% of the first rankers in Class 10th & 12th from the years 1996–2015 are either studying abroad or have settled there. According to government data, around 6.5 Lakh students migrate per annum for higher studies or jobs on average. Most of these students are the top rankers/medalists in their colleges. We can also observe an upward trend in the percentage of these students settling outside India. But what is it that is causing the best young brains of our country to prefer leaving their home soil and taking root elsewhere? There is just a straightforward answer — Freedom.

Today’s generation is increasingly independent compared to the previous one, and this trait is all the more prevalent amongst the brightest. The millennials prefer to live in an environment where they make their choices about love, career, etc., without judgment. For example, people from my generation prefer to have a live-in relationship before committing to marriage and we all know how difficult it is for a non-married couple to find a residence in this country, while this is common when you go outside. The above is one of the smallest examples of how freedom is undermined in our country.

Another significant aspect of this problem is the deep-rooted communalistic turmoil that haunts our country. A man in Uttar Pradesh calmly walks with a trophy in his hand, his daughters’ severed head, as if he has done something which is completely fine; beheading his daughter for having a relationship with someone he disapproved. We live in 2021, but our minds are still shackled to the archaic century-old ideas. Ask any of these so-called crusaders, and they’ll boast about our country’s golden heritage and accommodating culture. But these are the same people who will ask your surname to know your caste and then determine their behavior towards you. I have a friend whose parents asked her to choose between the boy she loved and her family due to the different castes they came from, and this is not a one-off incident; it is everyone’s story.

When our forefathers envisioned our country, they dreamt of a leading superpower that will pave a global growth path. They dreamt of an equal and free country where every person can express themselves without being judged or stereotyped. Therefore, they drafted the same into our backbone, as the world’s longest constitution. But they won’t be happy seeing India as it is now. We live in a country wherein — you protest, and you get beaten, you speak up, and you get beaten, you love someone, and you lose your head. If our culture is ‘so-called’ accommodating, then why do we have love jihad still happening across the country, and why is caste even a sticker that one cannot remove. These communal divides create roadblocks in the life of millennials who don’t share these ideologies but are forced to follow them.

If we are a society that cannot retain our intellectual property, we are doing something wrong. If our brightest minds don’t feel comfortable in their own home, we are doing something wrong. Ancient India was the torchbearer for the world. Indian scholars have giving priceless treasures of knowledge to the global society. From Aryabhata’s ZERO to Ayurveda to Trigonometry, India has contributed a lot to this world. And this was possible because we respected our scholars, scientists, intellectuals and gave them the freedom they needed to pursue their dreams. As Ayn Rand famously preaches in her book, Atlas Shrugged, a society that does not provide the much-needed freedom to its intellectual class will witness its brains running away & a society without its intellectuals is a society doomed to fail. And if we cannot stop this ‘brain drain’ from happening, then our vision for India as a superpower will keep on walking away from us.

A free society attracts the best talent for a mutually beneficial economy. But in this country, freedom is misunderstood as a right to mess with the other person’s freedom, and it is high time we put effort towards correctly understanding this word. Freedom of speech, expression, profession, business, love, etc. But this freedom has to be sometimes protected, even from the government who preaches to protect it, and it is us who have to fight for it. It is our battle, and it will eventually be our victory.

“Fuck man”, he let go the pain filled sigh.

He tried to ease his shoulder blades, now sore, due to the bag he was carrying the whole day. This was supposed to be a vacation period and he was still working his ass off. He started recounting how his day went. Sitting in front of his laptop screen, monitoring how much business was done today.

His stressed mind was juggling thoughts in his head. A boring desk job; going at 8 in the morning; returning at 12 in the night. He hadn’t signed up for this shit. If the life of a person who had secured the highest package in his college was such a mess then why do people even run after these things? Why do people want to get these things if it can’t provide one with happiness? He had sacrificed so much for this job; his love, his hobbies, practically his whole existence living in a Utopian world thinking that this would make his life better.

His phone rang….

He saw the name. And the realization suddenly dawned forth. What was he doing? This was never how he thought it would go. How did he end up here? Was he so blinded by his fake ambition that he couldn’t see where he was headed?

And it all came back, the mental flood he was damming for such a long time. He could feel his hold weakening. His fingers almost brushing the edge. And he let go. The chasm came forth. Memories came crashing down, drowning him in an emotional turmoil, choking him with the tears he never shed. He remembered…..all of it. The chases he did, the dreams he had dreamt…the promises he had made.

He remembered the roller coaster of emotions when he fell for her, the initial doubt about her feelings; the anxieties about their conversations; the suspense when he put forth the question and the explosion of joy when he heard the answer.

He remembered the strong ambition he had harbored, the ambition to do something awesome in his life, the ambition to bring forth a change in the way things worked. The enthusiasm he had. Fighting for what is right. Never caring for the consequences.

He remembered all of it. The time when he was alive, when he was a human, when his soul was awakened. He was the beacon of hope and strength for everyone, bringing people out of pain and misery. But he was the one who needed it now. A shoulder to cry on, a lap to sleep in. Deep withing he could hear the child in him crying out loud. He never wanted to grow up.

He had lost everything that defined him, leaving just a shell. Living a hollow life. It was burden that he had to carry around.

The past few days I have heard people say, “He was depressed”, “He was going through a lot”, “He fucked up.” But there was one more which was the most frequently used, “KEEP THE FLAME ALIVE.” How are you suppose to do that if you don’t know the value of that flame? How can you just puff it out? Just like that. You didn’t have a choice when you were born nor do you when you die. You don’t have a right to end your life.

Do you know the amount of hardships a mother undergoes to deliver a baby? Do you know the magnificence of the scientific jump from a fused zygote to a full-fledged human being? Do you understand the miracle of 37 trillion cells working in perfect harmony to keep you alive? No I don’t think you do. ‘Coz that’s why you chose to end it. That is the reason you chose to give it away. Give away the most precious gift one can ever get. Life.

Life is a gift and you chose to give it away. Give it away for some depressions that you have or some damn problem you are going through. But can’t you see. That’s the easy way out. The shortcut. A shortcut that cuts you short. If you can’t understand the importance of life then ask it to someone who is dying. He craves for any extra time he can get.

If you have enough time then recount something. Do you remember the aims and ambitions you had as a child? Do you recount the hopes and positivism you harbored? Do you remember the struggle you went through to get where you are? And you gave it all away, let it go waste just because you couldn’t take it?

If you think your life does not matter to you please give a thought to the people who love you. Family. Friends. Your Lover. Imagine what they will go through when they see that mutilated corpse of yours. Your lifeless eyes would drain them off their tears. The stillness of your body will haunt them for their whole life. They will find it impossible to believe that the once bundle of joy and happiness has become a bundle of bones under a white sheet.

What you need to understand is that the SHORTCUT is not the answer. There are people who want to hear you out, want to become your emotional dump. All you need to do is speak up. Let them know, your friends, your love, your family, what you are going through. If you want to break things go ahead, just don’t break your will to live. ‘coz as it’s said “KEEP YOUR FLAME ALIVE.”