The Jewel of Slavery

I am no longer the symbol of freedom I once was — I am now the one who, adorned with the ornament of servitude, decides the fate of a nation. — Dr. Shakira Nandini

I was a free woman. My steps followed the path of my will, my voice carried warmth, and my eyes shone with the light of dreams. My friends, my relatives, my people—they all greeted me with smiles. I was in love with my homeland, which I used to call "Motherland."

The pulse of my veins flowed with culture, my breath was fragrant with tradition. I wandered the world, but nowhere did I find the peace and comfort my soil had given me.

I would inscribe words like henna on grains of sand, sing the songs of my heart in the valleys of mountains. When I looked down from the peaks, the children of my nation looked up to me with hope, the elders’ eyes carried prayers for me, and everyone expected me to kindle the lamp of knowledge, to be a helper to my people, a support to the weak, a voice for the orphans.

I wished to bring education to every doorstep, to guide the youth toward livelihoods, to create new worlds, and to make my nation’s name shine across the globe.
My dreams were to see my people stand shoulder to shoulder with the nations of the world, to expose traitors, to bury self-seekers deep in the soil, and to bring justice to every threshold.

A living conscience resided within me. I lived for my people, and was ready to die for my land.
My aspirations aimed for the skies—I wanted to show the world that we are a living nation, and we wish to live with dignity upon our soil.

I was piercing through the darkness of ignorance, heading toward the sun of awareness—when suddenly, the chains of slavery blocked my path—an imprisonment I had never imagined.

A blindfold was tied around my eyes, my hands were shackled, my feet were bound.
My thoughts were attacked, my body was tortured, and my tongue was silenced.
There was darkness all around me, and my own turned away. Friends became strangers, and relationships lost all meaning.
Before me lay two paths: a painful death, or the jewel of slavery.

My hands trembled, my heart went numb, and my conscience bled.
In helplessness, I wore the jewel of slavery.
My body lived, but my soul had died.
Greed raised a flag over my conscience’s grave, and they made me a “leader,” imposed upon my own people.

Today, I am not the woman I once was.
I no longer want poor children to study and one day question me.
I educate only those willing to wear the jewel of slavery alongside me.
I fear awareness—because I know awareness becomes rebellion, and rebellion is a threat to my dominion.

Whoever speaks of freedom, I shall brand a traitor.
Whoever brings the light of education, I shall silence.
Whoever speaks of unity, I shall break their bonds.

Because now I am “her”—
the one who rules her people
wearing the jewel of slavery.

If you wish to stand with me, wear the jewel of slavery.
I will give you riches, but I will steal your dream of freedom.
You have only two choices:
Either erase me,
or I will erase you.
Because I—
have adorned the jewel of slavery.