Arenjungla Kichu
Phezü, Jotsoma
Over the last few years, “India’s democracy under threat” has been a continuous prediction by critics of the ruling government and it has never been proven truer than the recent crackdown on anti-CAA demonstrations. Almost all the pillars of Indian Democracy including the Judiciary seems to have collapsed along with many public institutions and elites of the nation.The citizens are neutered by fear and have become pessimistic to the very idea of India’s constitution of freedom of speech, liberty, equality and secularism.
Our biggest question should be: Is this nation being governed by a fascist government? I would like to refer to the words of the highly regarded political thinker and columnist of Indian Express, PB Mehta. He stresses certain elements that describes what qualify as “Fascism”: Does the government target a particular community simply because of who they are and what their identity is? Does the government encourage its own organizations/groups to promote a culture of aggressive malevolence? Does the government uses its power to intimidate independent institutions that can protect individuality, dignity and freedom of all citizens? Does the government want an India where everyone marches to the same tune? Unfortunately, the answer is a resounding yes to all of the questions. Therefore, even though the government is very dedicated to win the next election, we cannot help but conclude that the present government shows many symptoms of a ‘Fascist’ government.
We also cannot help but see through the government’s intentions of Majoritarianism, communalism and authoritarianism to enforce some sort of a 'Hindutva' agenda. The statements (read, incitements) made by some BJP political leaders for the upcoming Delhi Election and on the recent CAA protestors do not sound like strategizing to win elections alone but rather a veiled intention to polarize the society even further and give a pseudo 'nationalist' identity to only those who support the BJP. The govt., so far, seems to be successfully brainwashing the supporters by reinforcing the false rhetoric that anyone who is against them is ‘anti-Indian’; or a mere minority, liberal or leftist who is trying to break down the country into pieces. The freedom and encouragement that the government gives its supporters to use unrestrained violence against people dissenting is just the beginning of their vision to culturally transform India. I cannot help but agree with PB Mehta’s opinion again that the government’s ambitious project is to transform the cultural essence of India into: one, to assert Hindu majoritarianism and two, to consolidate Hinduism into a ethnic identity.
The recent protest against CAA by the young Indians across the nation and the Muslim women at ShaheenBagh has been very remarkable but the 'extraordinary' response from the government makes me fear these will only result in inciting more violence and polarization; thereby achieving the BJP vision. The biggest dilemma now is: are the protests going to stop the government from achieving its 'hindutva' vision or end up furthering its goals? In a scenario where the ruling government cleverly manipulates the protests into serving its own goal, can India survive such a calamity? These are perilous times, and all organisers/activists must lead very precisely with carefully envisioned, decisive moves.
