Freedom is a state of mind. A thought process that subjugates its ability to make decisions not under force of circumstance but through free will, and is ready to accept the risks associated with it, is truly independent. However, most people are enslaved to the external factors that may or may not take him or her to their right destiny and thus keep on blaming their luck or circumstance for not letting them do what they really wanted to do. We see so many people ruling yet behaving like slaves, we see so many people leading yet following the commands of others, and we see so many people free yet behaving as if they are chained. To be free is not a matter of having your own geographical land named after you, to be free is not having to prove your identity to be allowed to live or work, and to be free is not to say and do whatever you want to regardless of the consequences. It is much more than just geography, biology or communication; it is to have this confidence of being able to live even if circumstances are against you with this ability to take on the worst and not flinch from your path because your belief in the cause and your faith in yourself and the Almighty frees you from the fear of being stalled in your journey towards your destiny by the social and political irritants that have become part and parcel of this world today. What you see in the world in general and the country in particular is fear gripping the safest and the un-safest equally. Americans live in fear of being attacked by terrorists, being taken over by the Chinese as a superpower, being robbed of their economy of abundance and so on. Our country is an example of insecurity personified. The leadership of this country has sowed fear and insecurity in a planned way. The biggest fear is that if we do not do what our moneylenders tell us we will cease to exist. President Musharraf, in his justification of becoming a partner in the war on terror, mentioned that he had no choice as the Americans threatened that, “either you are with us or you will be pushed back into the Stone Age”. His stance of not having a choice and thus going by what the Americans were saying shows a chained bent of mind. He did have a choice of saying no, and if we see many nations around us like Malaysia and China, etc, we have numerous instances of them defying American dictates and yet flourishing. However, for Musharraf and for many of our other leaders, the fear is not of the US damaging the country but the fear of losing personal benefits of aid money and American backing for their rule in the country; that then becomes the biggest decision point to go by what they decide. When leaders and nations do not exhibit independence of action and decision, they put themselves on auction for blackmail and exploitation. With the economy bleeding consistently and dependent on IMF moods, how can we as a nation ever stand up in the comity of nations and make the world take us seriously and with respect? The fear of running out of money to pay our debts, the fear of the government not being able to fund its enormous appetite for status, perks and power, and the fear of letting right rule over might is the reason behind why our ruling minority has sabotaged and mortgaged the interest of the majority and made us look so weak and torn apart that people within the country have started doubting their own ability to bring about a change in the country. That is how embroiled and negative the mindset of a majority of the people has become. This brings in the fear of not being able to change their own or the country’s destiny. The mindset that the system of politics is corrupt and entrenched and that the same two parties are going to keep coming and ruining the country has made the people, despite their abysmal conditions, not come out and do much about it. This means that the spirit of independence is sort of dying away as they are so afraid of history repeating itself that their ability to get up and do something about it has withered away under the belief that it will be too small and futile an effort to make the changes necessary to bring about any major difference. Fear and insecurity are the cancers of independence. When you think twice or thrice about coming out of your house, and when you revel in talking negative and bashing any talk of hope as misguided idealism, you have lost the ability to feel free to venture out physically and emotionally. You have lost the uninhibited freedom of thought and action and have become a slave to your doubts and hesitancies. This makes one bound to being followers of what the majority is saying and doing. Thus you lose your freedom to think individually and differently. The spirit of independence in people and nations with self-esteem can never be suppressed indefinitely. We have seen that in the Middle East, where the rebellion is not against foreign powers but against a system of oppression that curbs the people’s right to fight for their rights. The best example of such a spirit is normally in the youth of the country. The raring attitude of the youth not to give in and not to give up is what can make the future of a nation different from what it is at present. Herein lies the key to the future of our country. With almost 70 percent of the country in this demographic segment, Pakistan has huge potential of utilising the unbridled passion of this generation to restore glory to this country. In many ways it is reminiscent of the war of independence. The movement took force when Sir Syed Ahmad Khan from Aligarh University mobilised the students to fight for independence. Today, it is again the younger generation of this country that is clamouring for change. The day this clamour changes into an endeavour and subsequently well-directed action, the country will regain its independence lost. The writer is a consultant and can be reached at andleeb.abbas1@gmail.com