This Republic day people from various walks of life speak to Monarose Sheila Pereira about their views on freedom.

Dr. Malcom Fonseca, Gynecologist

Thomas Jefferson wrote ‘Freedom: The Liberty to the Pursuit of Happiness is what the American Constitution seeks to provide’. Tersely, Freedom is doing what you like. Happiness is about liking to do what you do. But, I would say life is a progression from the former to the latter. One grows from experimenting with what one likes, and finally, settles down to what has come to terms with doing, and thus is happy. Freedom is the milieu created by a society, a community that promotes this progression. It has connotations of security, of mentoring, of communication and of love.

Adv. Vinod Sampat

To me freedom means to do things, which make me happy within the ambit of law. Freedom is a diverse term for all sets of people as they have different opinions, definitions and thoughts about the idea. Some speak of freedom in the political sense; others speak of social freedom and of personal independence too. But Freedom means the power or right to act, speak, or think without restraint, and the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved. Freedom is the choice to live your life doing what you want, to live where you want to, to eat by choice and to learn what your heart desires. This means freedom that can apply to different aspects of life and that freedom is not an absolute term. People living in different cultures enjoy freedom in a way that they deem appropriate.

Abdullah Khan, Visiting faculty, Research student

Freedom for me is the ability to follow the Constitution of India in its fullest form, to speak, criticize and question the people in power everywhere, and not have my social media monitored for the same. It is my desire to stay true to my academic integrity. For real, I will not be free unless my identity on official documents stops mattering, till people stop asking me to "be careful".

Siddhesh Salvi, Student, MMK College

Freedom is like doing something that you love and there is no stopping you from doing that particular activity. Freedom is like to do as and when you want to; to take important decisions and there’s no stopping you. People can give you advice but can’t force you to make decisions. Everyone needs a person around them that will give them advice and tell them what’s right and what’s wrong - someone like a mentor in your journey through life. But not hindering your freedom whatsoever, letting you do things in a way that you want to do. To have freedom the person needs to be sane enough to handle things that will come in his/her way, and to understand what exactly is freedom and not just being egoistic; the individual has freedom and control over a particular thing. Freedom is just being able to take decisions without being forced by authorities, groups, to change that decision.

What is your take on freedom?