"Freedom" to ME and YOU.

Its been 67 years of Independence and we are marching towards 68, and 26 years of my life, i have been part of the glorious Independence day!

Till i was 16 years old, Independence day for me, was a day when we had a holiday, an extra day to do your homework, an extra day to play.That is all it meant for me then! Attendance, however was compulsory at schools for the Independence day function, which went for two hours. It was a day when there used to be the photo of Father of our nation on the center stage with few more Freedom Fighters.There were dignitaries who came and addressed the function and spoke about the veteran Freedom fighters.

It was more or less the same thing every year, every year we tried to remember what was done by the veterans to grant us today a country with freedom. So how do you expect me to have a different outlook of that day. Finally the function used to end with notion "Jai Hind"! (means Salutes to the motherland-India).

Now am 26, have enjoyed precisely 26 years of freedom, which our veterans got us with a lot of Struggle. We did get our Independence from the then, time rulers. But are we really free? and enjoying or celebrating Freedom? I feel we still aren't, Is there someone who feels the same?

So the best way to find the answer was to find out from the YOUTH, my fellow Indians. Each answer was different.Today, on the 68th year, I had this urge, to find out what did Freedom mean to them and to me.So i did a small exercise,i posed the same question to few of my friends through one of the popular social networking sites, and have listed the responses as below.

After 67 years,in the 68th year this is what the Youth, have to say about Freedom:

Freedom for some meant :

• Freedom is: to express the facts and not to get in trouble for that.
• Freedom is: my Birthright
• Freedom is: Responsibility
• Freedom is: to live the way I want
• Freedom is: to do what my heart says
• Freedom is: to show what’s write and what’s wrong
• Freedom is: walking street alone in the night
• Freedom is: to do what I believe in no matter who is judging
• Freedom is: to choose to have kids or not
• Freedom is: to choose my sex preference
• Freedom is: Rape and Corruption free INDIA
• Freedom is: Democracy
• Freedom is: to Fly like a bird
• Freedom is: to choose the partner I love
• Freedom is: NO Reservations
• Freedom is: not to be judged by a Cultural, Regional, Religion background
• Freedom is: to choose my Profession
• Freedom is: wearing a dress of my choice without being called a”SLUT”

They were bizarre, freedom meant different to different people in different context! But they all cried out only one thing, we were still not Free.

Freedom to me this Independence day is "Freedom to Live like, am ALIVE on my terms".You may think how selfish this answer is, but if we all just did what we ought to do without interfering and creating problems, there is no big gift than that.The best gift you can give to yourself and to others and to your country.

Please feel free to share your views, what is Freedom to you?