The freedom fighters fought for the freedom of India for almost 100 years and I never understood the necessity. I mean, had we got independence a couple of decades later, probably we would have been much more developed, Hong Kong and Singapore are living testimonies to this fact. What then inspired a whole generation of youth to give up the possibility of comfortable lives for this seemingly abstract concept of freedom?
Contrary to what people say, I do not think that it was the wish to see their country being ruled by their own people that inspired them. It was rather about the freedom to think about that possibility. It was about being able to choose what they wanted to do, whom they wanted to work for, and most importantly, think the way they wanted to. These thoughts sometimes cloud my mind and I often wonder if in this race to beat the world am I (and for that matter many people) beating myself by compromising on that one thing for which millions of people gave their lives.
