At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world was asleep, India rose to freedom. It was August 15, 1947. Exactly 12 years later, on India’s 12th Independence Day, Madhulika Keshri was born. Madhulika, now 66, considers herself lucky because she thinks she has somewhat grown up with India. The Freedom’s Child says she could not have imagined as a child the strides India would take and reach where it is now.

Like Madhulika, Swadheen, 44, and Nishant, 25, are Freedom’s Children too, all born on August 15, but in very different decades.

They saw others celebrate their birthdays by distributing toffees and cutting cakes, but their own birthdays have always been very different. Local fairs, prabhat feris, school functions and national parades were the norm as they grew up.

While Madhulika was born in Jamshedpur in 1958, Swadheen was born in Odisha in 1980 and Nishant in Raxaul, Bihar, in 1999. The lives and experiences of the three Freedom’s Children reveal how India has changed over the last seven decades since it gained Independence.

GROWING UP WITH INDIA AS FREEDOM’S CHILDREN

Madhulika says she has been lucky for another reason.

She graduated from college at a time when it was rare for women to even finish schooling.

“My parents ensured that both me and my sister went to college. During our time, it was rare for girls to go to college. However, my father wanted all his daughters to at least finish graduation. Technologically, we have also seen a lot of changes,” Madhulika told IndiaToday.in.

Madhulika is right. Data from the 1950s show only 25% of girls even went to primary schools in India.

Education itself has seen changes in the last seven decades.

“Many more villages have access to schools now. Earlier, people had to travel long distances to go to school. Now, the number of schools has rapidly increased,” Swadheen, a journalist in Bhubaneswar, tells IndiaToday.in.

Government policies have also become more focused on women now, says Madhulika.

“The government is giving a lot of facilities to women. Be it the Ujjwala Yojana where women are provided free LPG gas connection or financial assistance to senior citizens where the government gives them Rs 1,000,” she added.

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016 to distribute 50 million LPG connections to women who were below the poverty line.

India has changed and taken a new shape, especially in the last couple of decades.

For Swadheen, when he was born, India was the muddy roads leading to his school. It was cycling or walking for 6-7 kilometres each day to reach his school. It was also the heavy weight of carrying a cycle on his shoulders when it rained. It was the long time it took to reach hospitals and the lack of amenities to grow in the village.

But this was not it.

India was also the slow place of life. Living within one’s community and helping one’s own when they need it. It was an agriculture-based economy and not abandoning one’s home for survival.

Now, India is progressed, and changed too.

PEOPLE ARE FREE, ARE THEY CONNECTED?

Tall buildings, better roads, more people living in cities. More income for everyone.

“Now, children can go to schools more smoothly with better roads. Houses in villages also have electricity now. Hospitals are close by. It is easier to get treated. Overall, the economy is doing better now,” Swadheen tells IndiaToday.in.

India has also seen technological advancement at a rapid pace.

“Earlier, hospitals did not have a lot of facilities but nowadays, with technological advancement, new methods of saving lives have been introduced. Earlier, so many intensive care units (ICUs) weren’t there, and neither did every hospital have emergency services,” says Madhulika.

But it is not all too well.

“People in cities do not have time to speak to each other or to help each other. They have a routine, they live by. Life is fast-paced now,” Swadheen added. Born in a village, Swadheen now stays in the city to earn his livelihood.

“The cost of living is also higher now, people are also more isolated from their loved ones. He also added how with increased cost of living, and fewer jobs for everyone, crimes have increased now,” he adds.

Despite its benefits, urbanisation has also come with a cost.

“People have benefited from urbanisation, but they were happier earlier. Lower cost of living, people were more connected to each other. Life was more simple,” Madhulika tells IndiaToday.in.

GEN Z AND THE NEW INDIA

Nishant, 25, was born in a village in Raxaul in Bihar. In the tales of his mother and grandmother, India was not how it is today. There was more crime, less freedom to move around and less self-reliance on India’s industrial and population strength.

He was born after India opened its economy to the world in 1991, which allowed global brands, multinational corporations (MNCs) and foreign investors to operate with ease in the country.

“Now, there is more conversation about ‘Make In India’. But we need to rely more on promoting Indian businesses and goods as Indians. We still have a long way to go,” Nishant tells IndiaToday.in.

Everything is a click away now.

“Earlier we used to listen to stories about how people had to walk kilometres after kilometres in villages to have access to some of the basic amenities. For us, everything is a click away. Life is way easier for us now than it was for previous generations,” adds Nishant.

Life is easier and people are safer now.

“The crackdown on crime is more severe now. Earlier, especially in the area I come from, it was prone to Naxalite violence. It has substantially decreased now. We have come such a long way,” he says.

India has been able to tackle insurgencies, especially in the notheast, and Left-wing extremism to a large extent.

Infrastructure development has taken place at a rapid pace. India has added highways at a rapid pace, and they have become safer, and families are going on long self-drive holidays.

THE DREAM INDIA OF FREEDOM’S CHILDREN

Madhulika’s dream India is one which can strike a balance between development and feeling connected with each other.

“When people can bring in a balance between a life equipped with amenities but also remain connected with each other,” Madhulika tells IndiaToday.in

For Swadheen, more focus on our agricultural-based economy will lead to better opportunities for a larger part of India’s population.

“With people moving to cities, 20-30% of people might have better opportunities now. But a focus on the village economy of India will make India a superpower. That is my dream India,” Swadheen tells IndiaToday.in.

He also gave examples of rural farming in Switzerland and the US.

“They have learnt to strike a balance between their agriculture sector and industry. If we can do that as a country, my dream for India will be fulfilled,” he adds.

For Nishant, the dream is to have more Indian companies and products in the global market and in India.

“The dream is to see big Indian brands being consumed by Indians and across the world,” says Nishant.