Today, Independence Day, brings a precious reminder of the inextricable intertwining of the woman, institution and nation — and of their freedoms. It is a moment, too, to ask a question: What will it take, as they turn their faces to the future, for all three to be more free? In an effort to find answers to that question – in a diverse and complex country, there are many answers, not one — The Indian Express invited five women whose work has prised open spaces and whose stories have admirably expanded areas of freedom for themselves and for others. In the columns alongside is a special Independence-Day package, which showcases their journeys. An award-winning sportswoman for whom freedom has meant overcoming disability, and setting an example.
A civil servant for whom it translates into a larger say in the system and the responsibility that comes with it. A newly elected MLA in Karnataka who is growing into her role as a people’s representative while wearing her Dalit identity with greater ease. A politician whose father made that most fundamental of all choices, the choice of home, at the moment of the nation’s freedom and partition, a choice that became the springboard for her own flight to wider horizons. An academic who is part of the grand project of Indian education breaking silos, going global.
Individual journeys, powerful as they are, are only parts of the story. Pieced together, bit by bit, they add up to larger wholes, but a nation is also anchored by its institutions. That is, between woman and nation, lies the institution. And the freedom of institutions shores up all other freedoms. As India concludes commemorations of its 75-year milestone as an independent nation, and steps into more uncertain times, it is a moment to recognise why democracy took deep root in soil that was deemed unhospitable to it — this country was considered too large, too poor, too illiterate.
The success of India’s democracy has been, in large part, because of its institutions. At the same time, it is also true that many of the lingering democratic deficits can be traced to distortions in institutional cultures and capacities. But, on the whole, be it the Supreme Court or the Election Commission, Parliament or RBI, IIT or ISRO, among many others, a complex mosaic of elected and unelected institutions has held up and continues to hold together this nation — with the Constitution as the guiding light, showing the way forward, and erecting the guardrails for a safe journey.
The Chief Justice of India, Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, writes on our front page today, on the institution he leads – the judiciary – so critical for the nation’s tryst with the future. His article gives a flying start to a new and special series: “At the steering wheel: The road ahead”, in which leaders of some of the country’s premier institutions will reflect in our pages on the opportunities and challenges on the road. Over the year ahead, we look forward to bringing you these stories of freedom and change, that connect the individual with the institution, and bind the institution to the nation. Happy Independence Day.
