FREEDOM
Nelson Mandela fought against apartheid; a racially discriminatory system imposed by the government of South Africa. Apartheid deprived black South Africans and other minority communities of their basic human rights and freedoms, segregating them into different living areas, restricting their movement, and even dictating whom they could marry. Mandela sacrificed a significant portion of his life — 28 years in prison — to fight for the freedom of all South Africans, irrespective of their racial background. His idea of freedom was grounded in the struggle against unjust constraints. In his autobiography ‘Long Walk to Freedom’, he narrates his life journey as a long and arduous struggle to remove these obstacles to freedom. In doing so, Mandela paid a steep personal price, giving up the pleasures of his youth for a greater ideal.
Aung San Suu Kyi, another icon in the struggle for freedom and human rights, saw her struggle in Myanmar through the lens of freedom from fear. She was under house arrest for years, separated from her family, unable to see her dying husband because she was concerned that leaving Myanmar would mean never returning. Her collection of essays, Freedom from Fear, presents the idea that true freedom can only be realised when one lives free from fear. This includes fear of authority, of public opinion, and of the expectations or judgments of one’s community. Suu Kyi’s philosophy calls for courage to live a dignified human life — a life where one is not bound by fear.
Both Mandela and Suu Kyi viewed freedom as an inclusive ideal, one that should be shared by everyone in the society and not confined to a particular group. While the conditions and the systems they fought against were different — apartheid in South Africa and authoritarian rule in Myanmar — the ultimate goal was the same: the freedom and dignity of their people.
The concept of ‘Swaraj’ in Indian political thought, particularly as it pertains to the Indian freedom struggle and Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy, offers a rich and multi-dimensional understanding of freedom.