THE trigger is obvious -- Independence Day -- to indulge in a free-wheeling thinking on the meaning of Independence for common people. So, the ‘I-Day musings’, so to say. Of course, the word ‘Independence’ -- or ‘Freedom’ -- has multiple nuances, as highlighted by poets and writers of all shades of different ideologies. But, among the most important of these nuances is one of a sense of well-being under self-rule. And an important dimension of well-being is good basic standards of living. This question springs up in the thought of every Nagpurian: Does Nagpur offer people a good, livable place? And the answer is ‘NO’ ! Bad urban design -- almost everywhere, bad urban governance -- almost everywhere, bad sanitation and hygiene -- almost everywhere, filth and garbage dumps -- almost everywhere, water-logging after even small rain-spells -- almost everywhere, bad traffic management -- almost everywhere, bad upkeep of historical monuments -- almost everywhere, bad management of water bodies -- almost everywhere, badly-managed, unhygienic public hospitals -- almost everywhere, badly-managed municipal or government schools -- almost everywhere ...! Such a Nagpur ! It hardly gives the impression of a livable city -- even by national standards, let alone the global norms. Is this all what we had bargained for when the nation struggled for Independence from the alien rule?

 

Of course, every Nagpurian realises that no one minds lack of five-star facilities when one lives in one’s own house. But should that mean that we have a non-livable city even after 78 years of Independence? Can anybody deny this reality in Nagpur’s case? The city has numerous slums where life means living in hell to common people with less than moderate resources. The city still has many areas that have been inhabited in an unauthorised manner (to which the State Government may offer authorisation later). The city still allows construction of shockingly tall buildings even on disproportionately small plots -- with the help of a strange (and possibly unconstitutional) provision called Transferable Developmental Rights (TDR). All these things -- and many more -- add up to the people’s feeling of helplessness about difficult living in the city of Nagpur. When the common people live under such a mental condition for endless decades, can they really say that they are enjoying fruits of freedom? Some may accuse the loosefooter of stretching the analogy of freedom (well-being) too much. But, to such an argument, all he can do is to remind them that the word ‘freedom’ must translate itself into something concrete, something tangible, something sensible by way of good basic standards. Therefore, as we celebrate Independence Day, the loosefooter chooses to indulge in some public musings -- with the confidence that those match the aspirations of fellow-Nagpurians. n