At the macro level, historically speaking, it took Indians a couple of generations to even recognise that they were not free—that they lived under slavish conditions. At the micro level, it is even more difficult to perceive such a state. How does one know whether they are truly free? This is a question that demands a long discourse, but I shall attempt to touch upon it briefly.
Freedom rests on shared understandings that leave everyone unobstructed in leading a life of dignity, where the sanctity of one’s person, family, home, and privacy is habitually respected. Even in public spaces, one does not feel anything other than an equal, nor that others are elevated at the cost of one’s own degradation. Freedom means living without fear of being wronged, provided one has not wronged others.
It is the optimisation of security and certainty in life—the right to act and speak as one chooses, without being subject to the whims, fancies, or interests of others against one’s will. All of this culminates in a life free from want and unwarranted interference. Such is the state of freedom.
Slavishness means living with the constant fear of being wronged, even when one has done no wrong. It is the erosion of security and certainty in life, where one’s actions and words are curtailed, or forced to serve the whims, fancies, or interests of others against one’s will. Such a state results in lives marked by want, anxiety, and constant, unwelcome interference. This is the condition of being unfree.
Niraj Kumar Jha
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