City youth redefine independence as personal, progressive freedom
They see independence not just in the hoisting of a flag or reading out a speech, but in the daily pursuit of personal agency: the freedom to express themselves, choose their career paths and challenge societal norms.
While they respect the sacrifices of the past, they are increasingly focused on what independence means for future — building a nation that is not just politically sovereign, but also socially progressive and individually liberating.
Priya, a second-year college student, said, "Freedom for me is when I don't need to rely on another person. If I want to go out at any particular time, I can, without needing anyone's permission or depending on someone to go out with me."
She, however, added that to preserve this freedom, one must be mindful and respectful in exercising the rights provided by the constitution. Today's leaders must understand the youth's need for practical and emotional independence, which cannot be handed harshly, she said.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
11 Foods That Help In Healing Knee Pain Naturally
lovemyfamilymag.com
Undo
For Akshay Raj, a private company employee, freedom is "individuality". He said that each generation inherits and then rewrites the meaning of independence. "Boomers fought for stability after chaos, finding independence in economic security, property and building a 'life worth keeping'. Millennials stepped on that stage and stretched independence into mobility, the freedom to travel, shift careers, blur the rigid life paths their parents followed.
For Gen Z, freedom is the right to self-express without borders, challenge systemic norms in real time and belong anywhere without asking geography's permission," he said.
To preserve this ever changing freedom, Akshay believes we must stop treating it "like furniture, something that once placed, stays forever".
"Independence survives only when we keep challenging the systems that claim to protect it. The moment freedom feels too safe, it starts to fossilize. Each generation must re-earn it in its own language, question the walls it stands on and refuse to let it become a relic," he said.
Stay updated with the latest local news from your
city
on
Times of India
(TOI). Check upcoming
bank holidays
,
public holidays
, and current
gold rates
and
silver prices
in your area.
Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with
Happy Independence Day wishes
,
messages
, and
quotes
!
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
25 minutes ago
- Time of India
'This is how much Russians respect Trump': Sergei Lavrov called 'trollmaster' as he arrives in Alaska wearing a USSR sweatshirt
Lavrov was seen wearing a sweatshirt with the inscription CCCP, the Cyrillic abbreviation for USSR. The wardrobe choice of Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov drew attention as the Russian team touched down in Alaska Friday. Lavrov was seen wearing a sweatshirt with the inscription CCCP, the Cyrillic abbreviation for USSR, as he entered the hotel in Alaska where Putin is set to hold talks with Donald Trump. Former Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis quipped on X about Lavrov's clothing choice: ''Just give us half of Ukraine and we promise we will stop,' says negotiator wearing USSR sweatshirt.' Russian fashion bloggers identified the $120 sweatshirt as the work of Selsovet, a Chelyabinsk-based brand that specialises in 'Soviet heritage' clothing. "This is how much the Russians respect Trump. The Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov turns up to the 'Negotiations' with Trump in a fucking USSR T-Shirt. The Russians are laughing at America and the West," one social media comment read. "You can't make this up. War criminal Lavrov arrives to Alaska wearing a USSR sweater. The Russians aren't even bothering to hide their bloody imperialist ambitions on US soil," another wrote. "Lavrov mocks the Americans right in their own backyard by wearing a t-shirt that says CCCP (USSR). If Trump doesn't react, America will become the world's laughingstock," a third user wrote. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Spacious 3 & 4 BHK Homes starting from 2.34 Cr* Evara Thane Buy Now Undo "Lavrov's 'USSR' sweater in Alaska is a clear nod to the Putin regime's imperial ambitions. They're stuck in the past and want to pull Ukraine and Belarus back with them – forgetting we are free nations that will never return to their 'brotherhood'. Dictators cannot be appeased," Belarusian politician Franak Viačorka posted.
Time of India
29 minutes ago
- Time of India
10 pilgrims from Bihar killed, 35 injured in Bengal accident, Nitish Kumar announces Rs 2 lakh ex gratia
Ten pilgrims from Bihar died and 35 others were injured as their bus rammed into a truck parked on the roadside in West Bengal's Burdwan town on Friday, officials said. Independence Day 2025 Modi signals new push for tech independence with local chips Before Trump, British used tariffs to kill Indian textile Bank of Azad Hind: When Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose gave India its own currency Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed grief over the accident and announced ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased. The pilgrims, who belonged to Motihari in Bihar's East Champaran district, were returning home after visiting Gangasagar in South 24 Parganas district when the accident happened on NH-19 near Phaguipur in Purba Bardhaman district, the officials said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 15 Most Beautiful Female Athletes in the World Click Here Undo Among the deceased were eight men and two women, they added. The injured persons, including six children, were admitted to the Burdwan Medical College and Hospital, officials said. Live Events "There were 45 people on the luxury bus. Efforts are being made to contact their families," an official said. "The pilgrims began their journey from Motihari on August 8. They first visited Deoghar and then went to Gangasagar," he said. A statement issued by the Bihar government said, "The CM has expressed condolences over the casualties in the road accident that took place on the roadside in Burdwan. He is deeply saddened by the deaths of Bihar natives in the incident, and announced ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the immediate family members of the deceased." Besides, the CM also announced Rs 50,000 as compensation for each injured passenger. The CM has also directed the officials to remain in touch with their counterparts in West Bengal and ensure proper treatment for the injured persons. He also asked officials to ensure that bodies of deceased hailing from the state reach their native place in East Champaran, it said.
Time of India
44 minutes ago
- Time of India
‘Khudko Turram Khan samajhta hai?': Remembering the hero behind this popular phrase whose name made the British tremble
If you've spent enough time in Hyderabad, you've probably heard someone scoff, 'Apne aap ko Turram Khan samajhta hai?', 'Do you think you're Turram Khan?' It's a phrase often tossed around to tease someone who's showing off. Few, however, stop to ask: Who exactly was this Turram Khan? Independence Day 2025 Modi signals new push for tech independence with local chips Before Trump, British used tariffs to kill Indian textile Bank of Azad Hind: When Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose gave India its own currency The answer is not some filmi hero or fictional daredevil, but a flesh-and-blood man named Turrebaz Khan , a fearless Afghan Rohilla from Begum Bazar. In the summer of 1857, when the flames of revolt were licking the edges of the British Empire in India , he led a daring attack on the heart of colonial power in Hyderabad. In books and archival records, he appears not as a boastful braggart, but as a revolutionary who defied both the British and the Nizam himself. Hyderabad, 1857: A City on the Brink By July 1857, news of the mutiny in Meerut had reached the Deccan. Across Hyderabad, whispers grew louder, sermons in mosques urged resistance, pamphlets called for the faithful to rise, and the British Residency at Koti watched the city with wary eyes. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like I am closing my jewellery shop forever... Wendy Clarke Shop Now Undo The Nizam, Nasir-ud-Dawlah, was a loyal British ally. His prime minister, Salar Jung, assured the Resident, Colonel Davidson, that there was 'no fear of unrest' and that no one had dared call for jihad during Friday prayers on 17 July 1857. Yet by dusk, that confidence would shatter. The Lion Steps Forward As the sun dipped below the horizon, a green flag fluttered above Mecca Masjid. Out of Begum Bazar emerged Turrebaz Khan, joined by Maulana Alauddin and a force of some 5,000, Rohillas , Arabs, students, and ordinary townsfolk. Their mission: to storm the British Residency and free Jamadar Cheeda Khan, a soldier who had refused to fight for the British in Delhi and been jailed for it. Live Events With little more than swords, muskets, and sticks, they marched through the narrow streets towards the Residency. By early evening, the gates were under siege. Shots rang out, walls were breached, and chaos filled the air. Six Hours of Defiance The battle raged deep into the night. Turrebaz Khan's men poured into the Residency grounds, some scaling the walls under cover of darkness. But the British were ready. Twelve artillery guns, over a thousand cavalry sabres, and more than a thousand infantry soldiers rained fire on the rebels. By four in the morning, the uprising was crushed. Many lay dead. Maulana Alauddin was captured and exiled to the Andamans. Turrebaz Khan, however, vanished into the shadows. Betrayal and Escape The British, furious at the attack, put a bounty of Rs 5,000 on his head, a small fortune at the time. Betrayal was never far away. Turab Ali, a minister in the Nizam's court, revealed Turrebaz Khan's hideout. He was arrested and sentenced to the dreaded Kala Pani, transportation to the penal colony in the Andaman Islands . But on 18 January 1859, just before his sentence could begin, Turrebaz Khan escaped. For days he moved through forests, rallying sympathisers, refusing to bow to the British. The Last Stand at Toopran His freedom was short-lived. Mirza Qurban Ali Baig, a local Talukdar, lured him into a trap at Toopran. Surrounded by troops, Turrebaz Khan fought until a bullet cut him down. The British dragged his body back to Hyderabad and, in a final act of colonial theatre, hanged it in public as a warning. Yet such brutality only cemented his place in local legend. From Legend to Language Over time, Turrebaz Khan's name transformed from a rallying cry into an everyday idiom. In Hyderabad, calling someone a 'Turram Khan' might be sarcastic now, but it carries the echo of a man who truly was fearless. In the words of historians, his defiance during the 1857 revolt 'put Hyderabad on the map of India's first war of independence.' Today, a road near the University College for Women in Koti bears his name, Turrebaz Khan Road, a quiet tribute to a man who shook the British Empire, if only for a night. The Man Behind the Phrase Turrebaz Khan's life is a reminder that history's bravest are not always the ones in our textbooks. In archival accounts, he is described as 'the head of the Rohillas… a prisoner with a wooden collar round his neck', a symbol of resistance even in chains. So, the next time someone calls you a 'Turram Khan', remember: it's not just a joke. It's a nod to a man who once dared to stand against the mightiest empire of his age, and never bowed his head.
