F for Fortune or Freedom?

Among all other nations, India remains one of the most populated in terms of casual labor.
The factor which contributes immensely to this anti-social condition is the imbalance between freedom and income. Often, the former factor is less stressed at than the latter. It is no secret that India is a huge reservoir of poverty stricken people who are either unemployed or seek casual labor work because of their lack of skill, education and knowledge.  What we have today, is money driven economy. One’s income must at least be in quadruple figures in order for them to even stand a chance to sustain their livelihood. Unfortunately, our nation suffers a fate worse than this. More than half the population of our country earn a living which does not allow them to afford even a meal once a day. The prospect of money is what drives the informal sector of our economy.

One might argue that, income should be the foremost component of a laborer’s job and they would not be wrong in their insight. However, the income which draws a laborer to a specific job is the same factor which stands to be as a catalyst of bondage. The promise of a tempting remuneration comes with its terms and conditions which are often hoodwinked due to the desperation of a man to elevate on to higher grounds. For laborers however, these terms and conditions are often too complicated to understand. All they look for is a prospect of earning which would somehow push them out of the conditions they live in. They get sucked into a vortex where they are awaiting the pay that they were promised and can do nothing but continue working in hope of getting the money that their owners owe them.  Quitting on the other hand would squander their hope of the receiving the credit which they had worked so hard for.

Although, there is no term to specify this form of forced labor, it is no less than a bondage or slavery.
Ironically, the same goes with those who are gainfully employed in the formal sector. The terms and conditions might not be as physically tangible as those of casual laborers, but theirs are more mentally imposing. People these days, don’t sell their services or know-how but sell themselves and their lives for the money they earn.  This, not only points to the unethical and inhumanly deeds that they commit on the orders of their superiors or to the politics that is played within the boundaries of the office to catch the spotlight; it also points to the amount of time they spend on their work instead of spending time in discovering the world and life. However, People clearly are far too happy to get their pay check rather than a freedom to live life without someone dictating your actions.    

                                                          

It is difficult to choose between freedom and income as both these components have their own irreplaceable impacts.  While money fosters ‘contemporary freedom’ which enables a person to do anything anywhere because of the power that these paper slips hold. The natural sense of freedom is almost forgotten due to the mechanization of human life where the gears of life are operated by the earnings. The more a person earns, the speedier and smoother their gears move and life passes by them without any hiccups. When thought about it on a more humanly fashion with emotions and with a sense of goodwill, freedom emerges as the more important among the two factors. However, the condition of today’s world where practicality of the situation matters than anything else, Income has an edge over the freedom of a person. Anyone who says that they would ignore higher pay check for lesser freedom is nothing but a hypocrite for when the time comes he/she would falter on this statement and choose income over freedom. The best option one has is to find a balance between ‘kamai’ and ‘aazadi’ as this is the only solution to lead a luxurious yet free life. The only problem that remains is that to find balance between these components stands to be a herculean task.