Democracy, (at least) in books, means “power of the people”.New India has a new meaning for democracy. However, this new democracy treats everyone differently.
Therefore, if you speak in support of the Government, congratulations! You are safe. Moreover, if you are a VIP, you may even get security which is provided to high-risk individuals by the government. This category of citizens is free to speak and do whatever they want, so to speak. Their lives (votes) matter.
Let’s talk about another category of citizens in New India. Beware of what you speak, what you do. Your one word against the government can turn your life upside down or even take your life. You say a word and hundreds of thousands of people are waiting to call you”Terrorists, Khalistanis, Tukde-Tukde gang” etc. Unfortunately, this category is not safe.
Let’s comprehend the new meaning of Democracy:
D=Dictatorship
We all know the dictator of our country whether we want to acknowledge it or not. This authoritarian leader of our country is fond of forming new laws without consulting the people whom the new laws are going to affect.
From the implementation of Demonetisation, GST, Reading down of Article 370, CAA-NRC, the sudden lockdown, new three farm laws and the rush to construct Ram Mandir and the Parliament House while economy continuously going down due to the pandemic, the leader takes decisions and citizens are expected to follow them blindly.
E=Economy
The pandemic is not the sole reason for crashing down of the economy. The economy had already been weakened by years of mismanagement. Now that India is back on track, the government really need to focus on its unemployment.
M= Mob Lynching
We have many Deshbhakts. One of them is a bizarre politician who always comes up with his bizarre ideas. Recently, CM Yogi Adityanath of UP introduced Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance of 2020, or say the “Love Jihad” law. It is being employed as a tool to punish Muslim Men. In a male-dominated society like ours, where women still live under precarious restrictions where women every single day face harassment, domestic violence, deal with sexist comments and many other things. This law is one more attack on them.
India is a country where women are taught to be voiceless and to tolerate everything silently. Now they will have to take government permission as well that who can they marry and who they can not.
There are also self-styled protectors of Hinduism. They roam freely, harass people for their religion and it’s not even a big deal. These protectors will either ask you to chant “Jai Shree Ram” or lose your life. This is how minorities are being treated in New India.
O= Objection
Again, what’s that? Our government could afford to miss Parliament Session to control Corona Virus but couldn’t do the same during the rallies of Bihar elections. Basically, we are living in the country to follow the orders and we have no right to question the government.
C= Casteism
“Aaj-kal chhua-chhut jaisa kuch nahi hota(casteism doesn’t exist today)”. We can easily find so many people saying so. But the reality is far different. Caste-based discrimination is not only a part of history. It still happens in India. Every day. Some recent cases of caste-based discrimination in India that did not catch enough attention are:
1. Dalit Grooms are still not allowed to ride horses in the areas of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana because it is still considered a practice to be reserved for the upper caste men.
2.Dalits in UP’s Bundelkhand are not allowed to touch water and tankers servicing upper caste. Following the water scarcity in the area, Dalits in the village have to walk 7-8 kms to fetch water from a hand pump installed in the Dalit area as their touch pollutes the tanker for the upper caste.
R=Rape
Recently, a 50-year-old Anganwadi worker was allegedly gang-raped in a temple in Badaun of Uttar Pradesh. Rapes in India have become so normal that this news was not startling. The startling thing was the statement given by the member of the National Commission for Women who went to meet the family members of the Badaun gangrape victim.
Speaking to the reporters, she said, “If the victim had not gone out alone in the evening or gone with a family member, she could have been saved.”
A few days ago, in the hearing of farmers protest, Chief Justice of India S A Bobde asked why women had been kept in the farmer’s protest; they should be sent home and hence kept out of the protests.
A=Assault
Though the Indian Constitution says that all citizens have the right to freedom of speech and expression, the question is do we really have the right? It has been exactly 24 days since stand up comedian Munawar Faruqui was arrested in MP when he was doing his show. Faruqui, along with 4 others were arrested on charges of passing indecent remarks against Hindu deities and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a show in Indore. Police haven’t found any concrete evidence against him but he is still in jail for a joke he did not crack.
C= Corruption
Corruption, corruption and corruption. India has the highest bribery rate in Asia according to the Global Barometer published by Transparency International. However, we have the most corrupt politicians who came to power and make promises to make India corruption free.
Y= Yellow Journalism
Exaggerate the facts and gain TRP. This is how journalism works today. It would not be wrong on our part if we start calling news channels as “noise”.
Our Democracy is in danger. We should be worried about our democracy instead of the USA’s democracy.