“On the day of this Independence Day (04/02/2025)"

“On the day of this Independence Day (04/02/2025)"

 

On this day of freedom bright,
I searched for truth in morning light.
Independence—what does it mean?
A land unchained, a soul serene?

Self-rule, they say, self-sufficiency,
Freedom, liberty—words of potency.
Yet echoes rise in silent air,
Are we truly free and fair?

Seventy-seven long years have passed,
Since colonial chains were cast.
Yet do our women walk unafraid,
From cruelty’s grasp and justice delayed?

Do our children laugh and play,
Safe from shadows where dangers lay?
Do scholars climb the heights they dream,
Or sink beneath a broken scheme?

Caste and creed still draw the lines,
A past unhealed, a present blind.
In corridors of power’s reign,
Corruption flows like poisoned rain.

A bribe for gas, a bribe for bread,
A bribe for justice left unfed.
From peons low to judges high,
The price of freedom wears a lie.

Where once we stood with heads held tall,
Now greed and hatred make us fall.
Do we walk as equals true,
Or march as pawns in politics’ view?

History bends to twisted tales,
Taught to suit what power prevails.
Through media’s glass, the truth distorts,
And venom drips from preacher’s courts.

Temples lost and lands erased,
Freedom stolen, faith displaced.
Voices silenced, shackled fast,
Futures fading in the past.

Yet still I dream, yet still I fight,
For dawn to break this endless night.
For unity beyond the pain,
For hands to build, not break again.

Independence is more than a day,
It lives in hearts that find their way.
When hate is quelled and wounds are healed,
When justice stands and truth is sealed.

When no man bows to caste or creed,
When all can live and none must plead.
When power bends to serve, not steal,
Then, at last, we'll call it real.

So let us rise, both you and me,
And shape the land we wish to see.
For freedom comes not just by date,
But when we choose to change our fate.

Kandiah Thillaivinayagalingam
Athiady, Jaffna

On the day of independence I started my day browsing on the internet and searching for the literal meaning of the word Independence and this is what I found, 

‘Self-governance’, 
‘Self-sufficiency’, 
‘Freedom’, 
‘Liberty’, 

then a thought popped up in my mind, ‘Are we really Independent?’

Is it enough being a constitutionally independent country? 

Are we living with complete freedom, are we really liberated? 

These are the few questions we have to to ponder upon…

It’s been now 77 years since we are free from the clutches of British rule in Srilanka. Today standing here after 77 years, 
do our women feel the freedom, freedom from the atrocities against them? 
Are our kids safe today? 

Do our students have the freedom to select the career they want? 

Do our students get higher studies on merit? 
 
Do we have freedom from caste discrimination? 

Have we got the freedom from the communal tensions in our country? 

Have we got the freedom from the corruption? 

Have we got the freedom from all those corrupt, criminal politicians or so called corrupt, criminal religious leaders / spiritual leaders who promoting hate violence and discrimination instead of Promoting Just and Harmonious Societies ? 

Have we at least got the freedom from our basic problems like poverty and unemployment?  

If your answer is No then we need to revisit our belief on being free and independent?

Corruption is one of the major problem which has been haunting Srilankans and adversely affecting Srilanka economic system. Though we are independent country, we are not able to get freedom from corruption which has made its way into the hearts and veins of most of the government offices. We have seen cases where small peons to top government officials including Supreme Court judges and ministers are involved in corruption. 

Where independence mean self-government, 

We the people in Srilanka have to pay bribe to get a basic driving license, to a traffic police, to clerk/peon in govt. office, to even get gas connection. Is this freedom, Are we really independent?

Caste, religious and race discrimination is another major social evil deeply entrenched in our society. 

Even though we are marching ahead towards education and development, these related violence is still occurring in so many nooks and corners of our country with support of politicians and so called higher administrative officers. 

So are we really Independent?

National Integration is essential for any nation with socio-cultural, religious, linguistic and geographical diversities and for a country like ours it is still more necessary. 

But a series of religious, communal violence in Srilanka has raises many questions for us. 

After so many years of independence, we are still struggling to stop communal violence in Srilanka as well as respect & treat all citizens equally. 

Though a large group of Srilankan strive for peace and harmony in the country, there are few groups, parties, organizations including religious organizations, politicians working in Srilanka to divide and rule the country. 

Political parties for their benefits have created communal hatred among communities. Communalism has been injected in our education curriculum, history has been changed, and media which is controlled by political parties and corporates has played its own role on all this. 

We should not get into the trap of few ill mindset people or media’s tactics, 

let us have independent thinking, 

let us have religious tolerance, mutual acceptance and 

let us cherish each other’s culture, language, religion etc. of our country Srilanka.

It’s not like I am pointing out only negatives about our country, we have undergone many positive changes after independence, in fact lot many. It’s just that me being a proud Srilankan, just wanted to highlight on few issues on which we together as Srilankans have to come together , out of our comfort zones and strive to make our great country Srilanka a much better peaceful place to live in.

UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL. 

On the day of this Independence Day let us keep all our differences aside and fight against these grappling issues and make our Srilanka independent from all sorts of slavery.

"Independence  day, a day to celebrate the birth of a nation and those who fought and currently fight to keep it free.

It is something more at least to me ,it don't have to be limited to just the forth of February

We can have Independence day any day

When some one gets victory over Alcohol or drugs, it is an Independence Day

When someone breaks free from abuse, it is an Independence Day

When someone free from discrimination, it is an Independence day

When someone free from hate violence, it is an Independence day

When someone free from inequality, it is an Independence day

When someone free from Corruption, it is an Independence Day

When someone free from communal tensions, it is an Independence Day

When someone free from twisted Purana history or false stories related to history, It is an Independence Day 

When someone free from religious leaders false propaganda and hate speeches , It is an Independence Day 

When minorities / tamil speaking people free from land capturing on false archeological or security reasons ,free from  encroaching their religious and cultural places by forces ,It is an Independence Day 

When minorities / tamil speaking people free from arresting and putting in prison Indefinitely without any legal justice or cases  ,It is an Independence Day 

For people of all breeds and creeds, to free themselves from the chains of nationalistic enslavement;

"Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake"

[Gitanjali / Rabindranath Tagore]

(Kandiah Thillaivinayagalingam,
Athiady, Jaffna)