Real Independence

When the Time Traveller rose from sleep he noticed the absence of his daughter. But there was a letter on the table.

Dear father,

You must be tired, so I didn't want to wake you up. I have no idea when I will get to see you again. That's why I thought of writing this.

Right now I am thinking of what we were talking about last evening.

This week, you said, is important because we gained Independence from the British. But, you questioned too, whether we are really enjoying Independence? February 4 is truly a red letter day. Getting free of colonial clutches of the British after over 100 years is quite an achievement. Officially, I mean.

I liked it when you described how our ancestors fought to gain Independence. There was a rumour that we got it easily, hot on the heels of India. For me it does not make any sense. We must not undermine our ancestors' efforts in such a way.

What we should do instead is question ourselves. Are we really free? No, the colonial mind is still haunting within us. We worship the English, don't we, honestly? We care a lot about the mistakes we make in English. I don't care a heck about the mistakes I make when I speak English. And I have seen most of my foreign friends never hesitate to speak English with all those mistakes. English is only a tool of communication for them.

But my local friends don't take it that way. They are so concerned about mistakes. There are people, who speak good and proper, laughing up their sleeves. As you know father, some of our relatives too talk so high of their kids who can speak only English. I wouldn't be surprised if the goodhearted Englishmen labelled that as 'inferiority complex'.

Is it not true, in all fairness?

Maybe we should talk about that in length the next time I get to see you.

With love, Daughter. - Sachi