The State of Indian Democracy in Three Headlines
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Sukla Sen
Jun 17, 2024, 10:38:16 PMJun 17
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Three headlines.
The central one pertains to the Indian PM's chest-thumping boastful claim as regards Indian democracy -- of late suffering a serious crisis of credibility -- before an assembly of world leaders.
The one on the left tells us that a draconian "anti-terror" law is being applied against a globally acclaimed Booker Prize winning (female) writer who is also known as a sharp critic of the menacingly authoritarian ways of the incumbent regime by weaponising an old FIR registered in 2010 on account of her public stance, on Kashmir vis-a-vis India (ref.: <https://www.outlookindia.com/national/arundhati-roy-2010-speech-uapa-kashmir-azadi-the-only-way>). This law ensures that the charged one is incarcerated for years even without a chargesheet being filed, let alone convicted.
The second one, on the right, relates to the news that the mysterious death two years ago of a brilliant (Muslim) student (from the North Eastern state of Assam) in the student hostel of a Central Government-run top-notch engineering college, which was being aggressively sold by the college management as a case of suicide, is actually one of brutal murder -- involving gunshot and stab wounds.
While murders -- even brutal ones -- are far from rare in "democracies", the deliberate institutional attempt to suppress the fact of murder is undoubtedly pretty much jarring.
The subject opinion of Arundhati Roy, many may of course very well disagree with (ref.: <https://groups.google.com/g/greenyouth/c/g3FduJpmFBc>). But, that's the core of the issue. "Democracy" is about the right to air different points of view. And revival of a fourteen year old case to silence and punish a stinging critic of the incumbent regime under a draconian law tells its own tale. And it's no stray one-of-its-kind isolated case either (ref.: <https://indiatomorrow.net/2024/06/08/press-club-condemns-fir-against-the-caravan-journalists-the-caravan-calls-the-allegations-fabricated/>.) Also ref.: <https://www.newindianexpress.com/amp/story/world/2024/May/03/india-ranks-159-among-180-countries-in-world-press-freedom-index> and <https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-one-of-the-worst-autocratisers-v-dem-report-on-democracy/article67939573.ece/amp/>.
That's how the three headlines together make a paradoxical whole.
A telling statement on the state of Indian democracy.
[An update: <https://x.com/Polytikles/status/1802754411900682403>.]
The central one pertains to the Indian PM's chest-thumping boastful claim as regards Indian democracy -- of late suffering a serious crisis of credibility -- before an assembly of world leaders.
The one on the left tells us that a draconian "anti-terror" law is being applied against a globally acclaimed Booker Prize winning (female) writer who is also known as a sharp critic of the menacingly authoritarian ways of the incumbent regime by weaponising an old FIR registered in 2010 on account of her public stance, on Kashmir vis-a-vis India (ref.: <https://www.outlookindia.com/national/arundhati-roy-2010-speech-uapa-kashmir-azadi-the-only-way>). This law ensures that the charged one is incarcerated for years even without a chargesheet being filed, let alone convicted.
The second one, on the right, relates to the news that the mysterious death two years ago of a brilliant (Muslim) student (from the North Eastern state of Assam) in the student hostel of a Central Government-run top-notch engineering college, which was being aggressively sold by the college management as a case of suicide, is actually one of brutal murder -- involving gunshot and stab wounds.
While murders -- even brutal ones -- are far from rare in "democracies", the deliberate institutional attempt to suppress the fact of murder is undoubtedly pretty much jarring.
The subject opinion of Arundhati Roy, many may of course very well disagree with (ref.: <https://groups.google.com/g/greenyouth/c/g3FduJpmFBc>). But, that's the core of the issue. "Democracy" is about the right to air different points of view. And revival of a fourteen year old case to silence and punish a stinging critic of the incumbent regime under a draconian law tells its own tale. And it's no stray one-of-its-kind isolated case either (ref.: <https://indiatomorrow.net/2024/06/08/press-club-condemns-fir-against-the-caravan-journalists-the-caravan-calls-the-allegations-fabricated/>.) Also ref.: <https://www.newindianexpress.com/amp/story/world/2024/May/03/india-ranks-159-among-180-countries-in-world-press-freedom-index> and <https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-one-of-the-worst-autocratisers-v-dem-report-on-democracy/article67939573.ece/amp/>.
That's how the three headlines together make a paradoxical whole.
A telling statement on the state of Indian democracy.
[An update: <https://x.com/Polytikles/status/1802754411900682403>.]
Peace Is Doable
sukl...@gmail.com
Jun 17, 2024, 10:59:29 PMJun 17
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