Independence Day special: How Free are we?

What might Gandhi, the man we credit with shepherding us to freedom, have made of his country today—of what we’ve gained and lost 75 years after India’s birth as an independent nation? This portrait showcased below by artist SAMIT DAS, riddled with provocation, might hold clues.

For our Independence Day Special edition, we invited some pre-eminent Indians to tangle with the question: ‘How Free Are We?’. Their reflections are an invitation to make another beginning. Below is the list of eminent writers, scholars, journalists and thinkers, who have shared their thoughts on this question which has gained utmost relevance today:

Ganesh Devy: The (un)making of democracies

Sonia Gandhi: A disappearing freedom

Purushottam Agrawal: Zombies don’t need freedom

Sudheendra Kulkarni: Let’s start demanding multi-dimensional freedom

Salman Khurshid: The freedom to be and become

Sanjay Hegde: Guardians of our own destiny

Zoya Hasan: Democracy and dissent in India@75

Leela Samson: We have to arise, or the dance will still

Kanhaiya Kumar: Calling all free-spirited Indians

Aakar Patel: Why we are still free