The Day After I-Day: Snapshots of Freedom and Unfreedom

After a big holiday in India called Independence Day, a writer named Vandita Mishra wrote about how people can and cannot speak freely.

A little before the holiday, college students gathered at a place called Jantar Mantar to ask the government for change.

The government listened, and an important minister named Dharmendra Pradhan resigned because of the students' demands.

This showed people that even a powerful government can be asked to bend.

But the writer says other things show that freedom still has limits.

The Prime Minister used a new label, 'dimagi Naxal,' for people who disagree with him.

A court in Mumbai said two students could not get bail for shouting slogans about other people in jail.

A university stopped students from talking about a book written by a former student.

A lawyer leader first punished a whole class of law students, then said sorry.

The writer says young people's success will last only if they keep pushing for change and stay a continuing catalyst.