Somu's Scribbling Pad: What the Independence day means to me

We were freed from the clutches of the Whites,

yet are shackled by the menace of corruption.

We were liberated from the law of the British,

yet are restrained by the reign of dirty politics.

We have been released from the rule of the company,

yet are imprisoned by the ideals of our moral police.

We were rescued from the evils of imperial authority,

yet are being hounded by the ills of communal riots.

We were cut loose from the harms of the Englishmen,

yet are rampantly endangered by rape and harassment.

We were unchained from the malice of foreign oppression,

yet are handcuffed by the spite of local discrimination.

The peace and quiet that comes with freedom is long lost.

The common man is on a running spree, chased by

bribery, sleaze, poverty, gender bias, inequality, violence and more -

All new-age oppressors in disguise.

What did we really win our independence from, I ask?

Is it just from the monstrosities inflicted upon us by the British regime?

Then it is about time, to redefine and re-establish,

the true essence of what independence means in today’s India.

Until then, August 15^th will merely remain to be

another day off from work in my calendar.

(Written for an organization wide competition on the same topic)