independence day?

this post is long overdue...a lot of thoughts came into my mind as i watched while india celebrated her 58th independence day...there was a special irony in the celebrations in my own institute...the cadets of ncc from the 1st and 2nd years were there for a parade, students who had to take nss becuase its a part of their course requirements were there, senior professors were there because the director was there, lots of schoolchildren were there along with their teachers to perform skits, dances and the like...apart from tht- me and my girlfrend coz we had some time to while away and nothing better to do, a local crowd who don't get to come inside the institute on normal days, the vp of the students' body and...nobody else! what does this tell us? i'll tell you what...the ncc and nss people were there for better grades in courses they had to pass for their degrees...the profs were there because they had to put in a good impression with the director...the director was there because he had to be there as the head of an "institute of national importance"...the schoolchildren were there because their teachers told them so...the teachers were there beacuse it is a time honored tradition and a prestigious thing to perform in the IIT...
this brings me to an important question...what was being celebrated there? independence? liberty? freedom?...who came there of his or her own free will to celebrate our independence?...are we really free?