As India marches into the 61st year of independence, the flag bearers of freedom feel this is not the country of their dreams.
NEW DELHI: As India marches into the 61st year of independence, the flag bearers of freedom feel this is not the country of their dreams and are troubled by the prevailing corruption and red-tapism in every sphere.
"Corruption has bugged our administrative system badly and I really feel ashamed when youngsters ask me, if we fought for the freedom to provide them a corrupt system," 90-year-old, Capt S S Yadav, who was a member of Indian National Army (INA), said.
Yadav, head of the All India INA Committee and a member of Eminent Freedom Fighters Association, said that there is no one in the government to listen to their problems.
"The freedom fighters are only remembered by the government for their selfish motive, otherwise nobody is interested to solve their problems," he said.
According to eminent freedom fighter Shashi Bhushan, India is yet to achieve system-based freedom.
"We have achieved freedom 60 years ago, but we are yet to attain system-based independence. We still follow the British administrative system and our army still has caste-based divisions," Bhushan said.
He said we need to completely overhaul our system as it has become corrupt and people have lost faith in it.
Majority of the freedom fighters feel that in last sixty years, India has surely progressed in the field of Health, Science and Technology but poverty and unemployment have also increased in the same proportion.
For, Malu Ram Kedia, 86-year-old freedom fighter from Chhatisgarh, who was jailed during the Quit India movement in 1942, finds that it is the "politics and politicians" that have completely changed, 60 years down the line.
"I have seen leaders like Gandhi, Tilak and Nehru fighting for the humanity cause. But, now politics has become a dirty game and a means of minting money," Kedia said.
"In those days the people had the easy access to their leaders but now leave aside the common public even we have to wait for months to seek an appointment from the senior leaders and ministers," said Kedia, who has been seeking an appointment from UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi for inauguration of a Gandhi statue in his village.
For, 92-year-old Capt Ganeshi Lal, a member of INA, the country has totally forgotten its freedom fighters.
"We are the forgotten heroes of our freedom struggle and are remembered occasionally on some award ceremonies," Lal said.
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