Re: Is It a Crime To Peacefully Protest Against the Government's Policies?

[Sukla Sen]

We're being driven to a "Hindu Rashtra" - denuded of all vestiges of substantive democracy and pluralism, at an ever accelerating pace.

This is very much in conformity with the RSS agenda.

The pandemic has providentially made things even smoother than otherwise.

That's all.

Should have been no surprise at all.

This is what I had posted here and elsewhere back on June 15 2019:

<<The BJP – the Modi-Shah duo, in particular, is, obviously, only too elated [over the poll outcome].

Modi is taking this opportunity also to refashion the organisational power structure.⁶⁶ What, however, is far more germane in anticipating the developments in the coming days is that the BJP/RSS has a project - to supplant the "secular" and "democratic" Indian state with a "Hindu Rashtra" (Hindu nation state) - the contours of which are, understandably, not etched in stone, but, even then, would mean complete negation of substantive democracy and pluralism. Of still greater salience, the journey towards it has got to be propelled by constant stirring up of hatred and violence against the constructed inimical "others", in order to mobilise the Hindus as "Hindus", drowning out all other competing identities.⁶⁷

Taking off from that basic proposition, the new regime is likely to have two major focal points on the "political" front⁶⁸:
I. Dismantling of all opposition - both party and non-party.
Towards that, dislodging, maybe even dismissal, of, at least a few, opposition-run state governments.
ED, IT, CBI raids on opposition politicians; also, in some cases, buying out.
Tightening the screw, in a myriad ways – including enhanced digital surveillance, also as regards the civil society organisations and dissenting individuals.
II. Sharply spiking communal polarisation by way of (phased?) nationwide roll-out of the NRC⁶⁹, also scrapping of Art. 370 (and Art. 35A)⁷⁰ and putting to good use the Mandir-Masjid issue(s)⁷¹, as per the demands of the situation.
Other expected developments are:

(i) Further intensification of non-state physical violence.⁷²

(ii) Mega sale of PSUs.⁷³
(iii) “Economic reforms”.⁷⁴ 
(iv) Stepped up trashing of environmental norms and safeguards.⁷⁵
(v) Tightening the grip over the education infrastructure and institutions.⁷⁶
(vi) Further defanging of watchdog institutions.⁷⁷ 
(vii) More repressive laws, if felt necessary.
While the actual (detailed) work plan will evolve and be calibrated, based on the perceived ground situations, and be punctuated with some measures to project a “people-friendly” image⁷⁸ – to confuse and divide the potential opposition, there is little scope that the general direction would be anything significantly different from the one sketched out above.
It would no longer be business as usual, not even by the standards of the last five years.>>

(Ref: <https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSX4J7wt12TDUlBKNQ_x1AiIPFvYKiNay001ceKe6qrZD9kAy_8sdtYNE25Jbwk0A/pub>.)

The 'Conclusion' follows.

All emphases are in original. 

Sukla

On Mon, 14 Sep 2020, 21:52 Somdeb Lahiri <somdeb...@yahoo.co.in wrote:

It appears that the ability to think and reason is a major disqualification in our country these days.
https://thewire.in/rights/protests-government-policy-criminal


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[Sukla Sen]

It's under the watch of the Indian people as a whole, including each of us, things are happening the way they're happening.

But, it's innate human nature that the first response is that of denial.

Deny that it's happening.

Then the next: try to shift the blame onto somebody else.

Unfortunately, and quite unfortunately, neither helps.

Yet, it's too difficult to get out of that trap.

Let me reproduce the 'Conclusion'.

Modi 2.0 very much presents us with the looming threat of the dismantling of the"India" - embodying the values of "democracy", "pluralism" and "egalitarianism", that had been wrought out in the crucible of the epic freedom struggle and, in the process, finally emerged on the 15th August 1947 - in pursuance of a project to supplant it with a "Hindu Rashtra" (Hindu nation state) - by mobilising the Hindus of India as "Hindus", drowning out all other identities linked to language, culture, gender, caste, class etc., constantly stoking hatred and violence against the constructed inimical "others". 

Regardless of all the (innumerable) flaws and shortcomings that "India" – real and even notional, encapsulates, the success of the above project would prove to be an unmitigated disaster for the vast majority of the people inhabiting this land.

What could offer at least some chance to avert such a predicament is a broad front/fronts: consisting of political parties, as many as possible - including their associated mass organisations, and non-party civil society organisations - based on the common agenda of saving democracy/democratic rights and unity of the country. Backed, actively, by right-minded, otherwise diffused, individuals. On top of the, ongoing and to be taken up, myriad specific issue-based struggles, by various constituents in their own ways – unitedly or independently.
Determined and consistent resistance has got to be offered on all available terrains – including parliamentary, legal, media (both traditional and new) and the streets, and in spaces – political and civil.

It is, admittedly, a stupendous task given that (i) the regime has the levers of the state power under its control – providing it with a disproportionate advantage to set and control the narrative (Pulwama-Balakot being a graphic illustration), and (ii) coming on top of its not too inconsiderable success in vitiating the “Hindu” psyche, via persistent and diligent work, by the RSS and its myriad affiliates, over decades and decades.
Moreover, much of the “opposition” may start melting away even before the real fight starts.
However, one has no option but to hope against hope and fight back.

15 06 2019

How many of us even tried???

Definitely, some did and are still doing. 

Am I one of those???

That's the question we've to ask ourselves.

Sukla 

P.S.: As regards how things developed the way they've, here's an attempt at exploration: 'Indian Nationalism, Hindutva and the Bomb:, dtd. Sept. 28 2003, at <http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article10225>.

A brief excerpt, following an attempt at mapping the various significant developments, and processes, since Independence.

To sum up, the rise of the Hindutva politics, constituting just not of ‘minority’/Muslim bashing but encompassing a changed conception of “nationalism” itself, since early eighties in particular, has a strong and clearly discernible correlation with the steady drift, decline and vicissitudes of the Congress, which had till then been not only the ruling power at the centre, albeit with a brief interlude, but also regarded as the very core of Indian nationalism.

Conversely, in the early days after Independence, despite the traumatic experience of the Partition, Hindutva was kept well under check by the Congress under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru in spite of many of its Chief Ministers in the states, and also quite a few other senior leaders, having been closet communalists. Nehru was, however, rather providentially aided in his task by the shocking assassination of Gandhi by a self-proclaimed “Hindu” militant - with RSS background and a close associate of V D Savarkar - the Hindutva mascot, and the consequent eclipse and premature demise of his main challenger - Vallabhbhai Patel, the first, and the then, Home Minister, and also Deputy Prime Minister, of Independent India.

On Tue, 15 Sep 2020, 01:23 Somdeb Lahiri <somdeb...@yahoo.co.in wrote:

Agreed!

But was this inevitable? If not then those under whose watch the country was till Modi and Company took over should be able to provide the answer. Either their policies were incorrect and so they are responsible for what is happening today or those secular opposition parties that opposed them are responsible for preventing earlier governments to perform. This is what pure logical reasoning would lead to.

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