Fwd: Democracy Endangered
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DEMOCRACY ENDANGERED
Anadi Naik
.Because of taking a wrongheaded policy decision the Modi government now has to deal with demonstrations at home and criticisms from abroad. Development programs are pushed into back burners as restoring law and order at home becomes priority number one. India, the most populous democracy is facing problems from within. In the history of modern India students have always played an important role in bringing whatever change is required. In 1942 their overwhelming participation in the Quit India movement shook up the colonial government. In 1975 the student body of the Jana Sangha (the progenitor of BJP) took the lead in opposing the government of Indira Gandhi. Now, the students are doing the same all over India against the citizenship Act of the present government.
No matter what the motive, a democratic government run on the taxes paid by all citizens cannot exclude anyone based on one’s religion. Instead of looking after national interests the Modi government in this case has chosen to fulfill an agenda.. In Delhi, the push back has come from Jamia Millia University and the Jawaharlal Nehru University. It is therefore no surprise that a group of goons carrying sticks and metal rods entered one of the campuses and beat up any student they found. The police, while present nearby did not do anything either to stop the miscreants or to protect the students. The attackers wore masks. Many think that the attack was sponsored by the government. With an obsession to put out any opposition to its policy the government seems to have taken this extrajudicial step.
Democracy is a game of numbers. In that sense, the Government can claim it came to power with an overwhelming majority and so it has the entire country behind it. The number also goes another way. When one calculates the number of votes cast, BJP’s share comes short. The opposition Parties together received more numerical votes than BJP. But it came to power because votes were divided among several candidates and its candidates got more than others. The history of the Congress rule in India was the same. It was Jayaprakash Narayan in 1968 who helped the opposition parties minus the Communist Party of India come together. They bonded in their opposition to the National Emergency and gained power in 1977. Enthusiasm is no substitution to understanding history.
Needless to say a democratically elected government is not immune to making mistakes. In Germany under Hitler a sense of superiority prevailed in which it became “necessary” to kill 6 million Jews so that the purity of the Aryan race could be preserved. The British Parliament continued to make Rules for the people of India whose sole purpose was to exploit the colony. The United States has been involved in endless wars since the end of World War II. Therefore, a democratically elected government may or may not reflect the best interest of the people at all times. Occasionally, citizens have to take matters into their own hands. One’s commitment to democracy dictates that. In Washington right now, actress activist Jane Fonda has been doing a crusade for climate change. The government policies are not helping the situation. In order to make her point, every Friday she and her friends make noise at the capitol and get arrested. Fonda is 82 yrears old. Her friend .Gloria Steinem, a feminist icon is 85 and Delores Huerta, a labor activist is 89. Yes, much is expected to whom much is given.
In the United States during the Vietnam War, while the soldiers were being sent to fight a war 10,000 miles away, University campuses were exploding in protests and sit ins. Support for Civil rights movement in 1960s also came from campuses. When time came to oppose apartheid in South Africa or help Cesar Chavez’s farm workers in California or free South West Africa (now Namibia) from a protectorate, it was the students in the US who took the lead. They opposed the policies of their duly elected government. Like them the students in India today deserve thanks not attacks.