Magna Carta: as seen by brown sahibs and firangis.

Britain is celebrating 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, which means the ' Great Charter ' in Latin. No harm in that. Now that the Empire is gone, and with it the massive plunder of wealth from colonies, such celebrations bring in tourist and much needed cash. But how important a document was it? That depends on who you read, the brown sahibs are effusive in their praise about how it was basis of liberty and human rights while the firangis are much more tempered in their analysis. " The fame of the charter lies in its extraordinary provisions whose moral strength is familiar to the present world," writes one. And again," The Magna Carta is an early reminder of the crucial difference between freedom and liberty. Liberty is freedom that is unique to humans, it is guaranteed by law." Another sees Nelson Mandela as great because he was inspired by the Magna Carta and the present South African President, Jacob Zuma as a small man for allowing the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to leave the country even though there is a warrant for his arrest from the International Criminal Court. He sees nothing wrong in the racist court pursuing only Africans and leaders of former Yugoslavia, while mass murderers, Tony Blair and David Cameron, enjoy complete freedom. " Civilization began with equality," he says with complete certainty. Really? Humans have been killing each other before history began. " Magna Carta in 1215 was never a blueprint for human rights," said Julian Harrison, a curator at the British Library while Graham Smith, senior Lecturer in History, said," I think it's being misused." The concept of habeas corpus was present before the treaty was signed and King John repudiated it almost immediately after. The charter was " a declaration of economic rights " according to a lecture. The barons were trying to restore their feudal rights which the king had violated by imposing very high taxes. What we still face in India today, but instead of one king, we have hordes of politicians, civil servants and business fellows sucking away our vitality as a nation. The feudal system was based on possession of land and the barons wanted to protect their heirs from any interference by the king in inheriting their properties. In India today the super rich invest 50% of their wealth on real estate and are planning to buy more. In the feudal system the king was seen as corrupt, today corruption is more widespread as banks game the system, companies hide their wealth overseas to avoid taxes and organised crime operates in the shadows of the internet. Finally, a professor writes that the fame of the Magna Carta is based on myths. Apparently Oliver Cromwell called it Magna Farta. Wonderful to know that a Puritan used such a word in the 17th century. That is true liberty indeed.