Briefly summarized is Professor Ujjwal Chowdhury article on the lines of a poem First They came for the Communists written by Martin Niemoller adapting it to present times: “First they came for the Muslims. A spate of cow lynching kept happening around north India. But I remained silent! Then they came for the rationalists, writers forgetting that they are the conscience of a growing society coming out of centuries of superstitions, feudalism and imperial domination. Kalburgi, Pansare, Gauri Lankesh…..killed in cold blood. But I remained silent! Then they came for the Dalits with beatings and lynchings and although there may have been worse in the past, incidents were increasing. But I remained silent! Then they came for the tribals forgetting how they protect flora, fauna, ecology and mother earth as they have been for centuries. They were removed from their land, tradition and habitation, to give land to crony capitalists at low prices resulting in millions of migrant homeless laborers moving to urban India. But I remained silent! Then they came for the modern women as they are not in the kitchen, or in saris, nor back home before dark, celebrating with male friends in restaurants, pubs etc forgetting that today they lead banks, are pilots, editors, players, astronauts; did not deter violence by Ram Sena, rape of working women, attacks on New Year revelers and trafficking of their children. But I remained silent! Now they have come for me, and no one is there for me as I was not there for anyone”.
I cannot fault the professor for the above. The Gau Rakshas and murderous mobs with State patronage and police brutality have been increasingly operating with impunity! The Prime Minister will not make a decisive statement to stop this spreading malaise, thus patronizing the double speaks of “We condemn this dastardly deed, no one can take the law into own hands but (Lekin)…..” Then justify people’s sentiments, the Hindutva narrative and so on. Damodar Mauzo and fifty others condemning deeply flawed ideas of nationalism/critical of current regime are reportedly on a hit list! Reservation quotas decided by the Supreme Court (because the Executive is playing politics) leads to riots and destruction of vehicles and properties by mobs. An increasingly violent society with dangerous religious and communal dimensions, selective implementation of the law with regime patronage is polarizing this uniquely diverse nation. Militant Hindutva will disgrace Hinduism just like Muslim radicals did Muslims!
The NRC exercise in Assam is being implemented stoking old smoldering fires, under the garb of Supreme Court monitoring. Since the cutoff date, children have been born and grown up; families have passports, Adhaar and jobs. All sorts of glitches and separations, parents from children, siblings from each other, lakhs are not on the list. The communal Citizen’s Amendment Bill being prepared and the cruel process inflicted may undermine the credentials of India in the eyes of the world. I understand that if this process can be manipulated/increases their vote bank, they will want NRC implemented in all States! Two anchors of a prominent TV channel resigned rather than tailor or tone down content critical of government perception. The Editors Guild of India deprecated the inability of most media owners to fight back calling this reportedly “almost Orwellian and strikes at the very root of media freedom and indeed the foundation of democracy which is the right of public to be informed and hold the establishment accountable. There seems to be a brazen attempt to punish unfriendly news channels and inconvenient voices”.
It is understood that Goa Police has been authorized to monitor all kinds of social media and take necessary action. Such surveillance on all citizens under the guise of security/ intelligence throwing our right to privacy to the winds will require permission of the Supreme Court and stringent checks and balances made public. Who will police the police? In our diverse democracy, it is impossible to speak without hurting someone’s sentiments, imagined or real. Notice the many bizarre statements of netas fanning communal hatred going uncorrected/unpunished! The world will not applaud/honor an intolerant mono culture where its citizens are in different states of unhappiness and unsafe, especially its exploited vulnerable women and children and democratic atmosphere polluted in more ways than one. The Pradhan Sevak of the BJP is in continuous election mode, attractively building dreams whilst distorting/hiding reality and the Opposition is in shambles. The nexus between rich lobbies and powerful politicians are thriving with laws made to enable uncapped political funding in confidence! The ruling party is in power at the Centre and in majority of the States and has developed powerful machinery for propaganda with sole aim of winning elections.
The centre watches whilst law and order in most States is subject to political patronage. Vajpayee’s inclusive development model for the common man on the street and dignified ethical Parliamentary debate are over. The eulogy of the BJP big wigs in power sounded mostly hypocritical. The best homage to their founder President would be to introspect and to honor his legacy, course correct accordingly by imbibing and emulating not only his views and philosophy for India, but his respect for the Constitution, Institutions , Parliamentary procedures, the Opposition and decency. The last bastion the judiciary is losing its majesty. Democracy and the soul of India are under test.
(The author is a retired naval officer, freelance writer)
