Our Country, Our Rights

Sanjaya Baru’s book, The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh, hit the markets during a political storm and election frenzy in India. It has certainly created ripples between the two major parties, the BJP and the Indian National Congress.

Judging by the title, the book appears to criticize Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his tenure. First, he is portrayed as an “accidental” prime minister. Second, the implication is that his time in office did not secure a promising future for India.

What I appreciate most about the book—and even its title—is the freedom of writing and speech it represents. This is a privilege many countries are deprived of and desperately need. Consider their voices, their rights, their freedom of expression. Look at their print media and press freedom. In some nations, criticizing or giving negative feedback to those in power is simply not allowed. If someone dares to do so, they are damned, rebuked, and admonished. Such societies pretend to be utopian but are in fact dystopian. Some put on a gentle facade while offering only limited freedom. Is it freedom of choice? Or freedom of individuality? Their voices are smothered, controlled, and hidden. There is no such thing as “Our country, our rights.”

From Google