Individual Freedom Is a Myth
Picture this, it is an English summer evening, a 80 year old man walks down the street, enjoying the summer breeze when suddenly he is confronted by a nineteen year old girl who swings a punch at him pushing him towards the ground, spits on his face, blows a few more punches and walks off, leaving the grovelling man sprawled on the pavement.
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is not a delineation but hard, distressing reality.
We proudly state that we belong to the Information/ Digital/New Media Age, where the present is the future. Our highly advanced ways of life are both ethical and civilised. And then there was Stone Age, where the uncivilised, unsophisticated, uncouth man lived. The difference between both the time periods is that, then the man had the freedom to eat whenever and whatever he wanted, sleep wherever he felt like, think and do whatever he felt was right, and so on. While now, if you have enough money, then you can feed yourselves with whatever your pocket allows you to. If you have a high status in the society, you have the privilege to do what you like, you have the freedom to express your thoughts and feelings and you have the liberty to enlighten the world with your opinions. But if you are a mere common man, then this individual freedom is nothing but a myth for you. Now the argument that arises here is, we live in free society, in a modern, globalised world. Nobody can violate our rights, our freedom. But is that so? Well, let me apprise you with a recent event that took place in Maharashtra, India. Two girls were arrested for posting comment on social networking site, opposing the shutdown in Mumbai after Bal Thakrey’s death. One of the girl allegedly said that one should not observe ‘bandh’ for Thackeray's funeral, while her friend liked the post. After the comment was posted, a mob of nearly 40 people, belonging to the late politician’s party, barged into the girl’s uncle's orthopaedic hospital and vandalised the place. The duo was
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is not a delineation but hard, distressing reality.
We proudly state that we belong to the Information/ Digital/New Media Age, where the present is the future. Our highly advanced ways of life are both ethical and civilised. And then there was Stone Age, where the uncivilised, unsophisticated, uncouth man lived. The difference between both the time periods is that, then the man had the freedom to eat whenever and whatever he wanted, sleep wherever he felt like, think and do whatever he felt was right, and so on. While now, if you have enough money, then you can feed yourselves with whatever your pocket allows you to. If you have a high status in the society, you have the privilege to do what you like, you have the freedom to express your thoughts and feelings and you have the liberty to enlighten the world with your opinions. But if you are a mere common man, then this individual freedom is nothing but a myth for you. Now the argument that arises here is, we live in free society, in a modern, globalised world. Nobody can violate our rights, our freedom. But is that so? Well, let me apprise you with a recent event that took place in Maharashtra, India. Two girls were arrested for posting comment on social networking site, opposing the shutdown in Mumbai after Bal Thakrey’s death. One of the girl allegedly said that one should not observe ‘bandh’ for Thackeray's funeral, while her friend liked the post. After the comment was posted, a mob of nearly 40 people, belonging to the late politician’s party, barged into the girl’s uncle's orthopaedic hospital and vandalised the place. The duo was