Today is the day that India got Independence. 15 August. A day which is celebrated throughout the country. The day we we got our Independence from the British. But as I look around, see the current condition our country is, I wonder are we really independent? Are we really free from the grip of the ruling system where we are basically controlled by the government? And the answer is no. We are in the grip of a government which only sees its own needs first. Those who were sworn to take care of the people who elected them, don't give a damn. They chew us up and use us. The taxes we pay to them so that they can help our country grow, is all used by them for their own personal wants. This country is worse than it was 66 years ago. Corruption has its reach deep within the system. Even a traffic policeman tries to earn a couple extra bucks by taking "compensation money" for breaking a signal or not wearing a seat belt. Getting work done in a government office without paying them some money is next to impossible. Everyday the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It's just so disproportionate. We see the two richest men in the country compete with each other based on how big their house is. Not on how many lives they have affected. Is this what the freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives for their country wanted? Can we proudly say that India is our country? I'm not so sure. The image they had in mind while they readily gave their lives was definitely not this. We see citizens of this country leave this country whenever possible because they are tired of living here. We all lay our hopes on the government, hoping that they will do something. We assume that we don't have to do anything. We try to take on peaceful means to cause a revolution without realizing that for a revolution to happen, we have to fight for it. It is not going to happen like that. This country is ours. This country belongs to the people. Not to the government who try to rule us. And the worst part is we let them. We don't even fight back. This is not the way it works. The government is our representative, not our ruler. We owe them nothing. Nothing. And on this note I wish you a happy Independence Day.
