Are we truly Independent after 69 years of Independence?

"A call is scheduled by a client at 9.30pm, please attend," I was told last Friday eve. I said "I have other plans so won't be able to attend this ad hoc meeting." "Then find someone else who can attend. The client has set up the call so we have to take it." came a response from the onsite person. When I said, "Sorry, but its a Friday and all team members will have some plans and get the meeting postponed and if possible to sometime our morning." Response was "You write to the client. We can't ask the client to stay back their evening. We have to adjust and take calls."

This made me wonder... After so many years of independence, really how independent are we?

We were enslaved by the British and we needed Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose, etc. to get us out of it.

As a society, we still believe in "Ji huzoori" is still very evident in the corporates.

When it comes to service companies, we are coached "Clients are God." And hence follows:

• Say Yes to whatever the client demands, however unrealistic it might be. - The client on, one hand, will take full advantage of this. They will make sure to have some of the most unrealistic deadlines, demands. Almost all management teams will say "Yes" without understanding what is needed.
• Unrealistic commitments end up with unplanned and crazy working hours. (This reminds me of the forced cotton growing fields)
• Escalation around anyone who raises their voice (A typical Bhagat, Azad situation)
• Another recent trend that I saw was "Oh! I can't establish the rapport as quickly as the white-skinned person because I can't talk their language." 
• We have started fearing the clients. Why are we portraying ourselves as people who can't fend for ourselves?

And so I wonder, we may have got independence from the British but aren't we still under a different kind of a rule.