There is always a risk to parliamentary democracy being in jeopardy when the ruling party has a single-handed majority. One of the main signs of parliamentary democracy being in danger is the stifling of freedom of expression. The biggest and the latest example of this is X’s (formerly known as Twitter) willingness to comply with the government’s executive orders regarding ban on the posts related to farmers’ protests. X’s Global Affairs team stated this over their social media handle in which they clarified that they have agreed to comply with the India government’s orders.
This has understandably agitated many people who have expressed great disappointment over a global giant like X kneeling down to a government. In its defence, X claimed that they have blocked these posts only within India and they do not agree with the Indian’s government’s stance, however, they will face significant penalties including imprisonment if they fail to comply with the government’s orders. This proves one thing: that the government, by taking this decision, wants to send a signal that they solely hold the right to decide who will post what on social media. Indeed, this is not the first time this has happened.
Whenever there is a significant agitation against the government, the authorities first shut down the internet services in the region. It is reasonable to do so given the possibility of the situation getting worse due to misinformation and rumours which spread like a virus on social media. However, the government is also well aware about the fact that the farmers’ protest might receive support and empathy from other States which could lead to negative publicity for the ruling party since farmers form a major group of voters. That is why the internet services in Haryana and nearby regions were cut short followed by strict orders to X for the removal of any posts related to the farmers’ protests. BJP since the beginning has accused this second phase of the farmers’ protests as a pre-planned agenda to tarnish Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image which is why they have blocked the entrances of the country’s capital. The government has also instructed the mainstream media to not dedicate too much coverage to the protests and it is very much evident that the majority of the mainstream media houses have followed the unwritten rule.
In fact, some of the media channels called the protests a way to cause unrest in the country. The videos of police firing tear gas on protesting farmers and the social workers were made viral by the participants and as a response, police authorities too posted videos of farmers pelting stones on them. One of the young farmers died after a tear gas canister hit him in the head.
All these developments gained worldwide attention especially on Twitter. This led to India’s image on the international scene as a country, which is aiming to become the third largest economic superpower in the world, cannot even grant its farmers their basic rights. The government knows fully that if the farmers succeed in marching and entering the nation’s capital, it would jeopardise their ambitions for the upcoming general elections.
However, the farmers too, are adamant on their demand for legalisation of minimum support prices for their harvest. This is the very reason the government does not want the protest to amplify on social media. Truth be told, it’s the social media which had played a significant role in the Modi government’s victory in 2014 elections and so, they know the power it holds. If this is not a dictatorship then what is? The government is also otherwise accused of misusing the intelligence agencies to suppress the voices of their opposition. Unfortunately, the government does not seem to care.
Narhar Kurundkar, who boldly spoke against the Emergency during the Emergency period by citing the subject of European policy, writes in one of the articles in his book ‘Chaaya Prakash’ titled Fascism, that democracy’s presence in human history is short-lived. Most of the eras belonged to dictatorship be it in the form of military, religious leaders or royal families. Fascism is also a form of dictatorship, writes Kurundkar. This dictatorship is actively supported by a major public group and slowly, the fascism settles in. Or at least that is how it took root in Italy and Germany. These thousands of fascists are ambitious, loyal and are also mentally prepared to kill or get killed to achieve their targets. Fascism’s success lies in building such a strong pool of loyalists.
