India on 77^th Independence Day 2023!

By M.Y.Siddiqui

     Tryst with destiny made by the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in the midnight of August 15, 1947, the momentous time of India’s Independence from over two centuries of the British rule, for a republican India of justice, equality, liberty and fraternity for all citizens equally and alike, has been decimated by the RSS Pariwar union government since 2014. The government together with the RSS Pariwar ruled States has subverted the rule of law based constitutional democratic governance. It has made many boasts and made many promises since 2014. Yet when reckoned by objective criteria, its record in office has been underwhelming. It has written a decline in growth since before pandemic and surge in unemployment as never before. It has savagely set Hindus against Muslims/Christians (pitted communities against each other). It has allowed India’s status to decline in the neighborhoods and in the world. It has corrupted institutions. It has ravaged the natural environment. 

PM, in his usual arrogance and despotic style, failed to account to the people for his anti-democratic actions like demonetization in which over 170 people died hitting national economy badly, for ill-conceived GST that knocked down almost all small, most medium and entire unorganized sector economy resulting in  massive unemployment and growing miseries of people, for his three black farm laws and resultant year long agitations of farmers and loss of over 700 of their precious lives, for sudden lockdown at short notice of four hours that disrupted people’s social and economic activities, neglect of people with impunity in Pandemic wherein more than 57 lakh people died for his crass failure, giving a death blow to the democratic norms. 

In sum, the actions of the union government have damaged India economically, socially, institutionally, internationally, ecologically and morally. Despite all these, RSS Pariwar remains in pole position. The mantra is Hindutva majoritarian politics, venomous communalism, hatred, religious polarization fed on religious opium, minorities subjugation, divide and rule patterned on Hitlerian fascism, ignoring issues germane to people’s basic needs like employment, affordable costs of living, social peace and harmony for country’s sustained progress. In the current juncture, PM’s only image matters, not what makes a nation great? What makes a nation great is the quality of its economic life at the grass roots, its social enlightenment, its political probity, the independence of its media, the grit of state institutions to be above fear or favour, the unfettered productions of its creative artists, writers, the originality of its academicians, the stature of its Parliament and so on. 

India completed 75 years of Independence on August 15, 2022 and the yearlong celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee of the Freedom was named Azadi Ka Amritkal (halcyon days of freedom/golden period of Independence) that culminates on August 15, 2023. During this much-hyped period, the nation stood at a dangerous place with the founding values of our secular, democratic and republican Constitution coming under frequent assault from the RSS Pariwar union government and its Pariwar ruled state governments. People are witnessing heightened social fissures, unjust and discriminatory treatment of minorities, ill-treatment of women, bulldozer justice against minorities, attacks on their livelihood, protection of lumpenproletariat from the ruling Sangh Pariwar, naked aggressive display of Hindutva majoritarian supremacist politics, all patterned on Hitler and Mussolini repressive-cum-oppressive politics, capture of mainstream media, recourse to sustained false propaganda and lies, with little action for the welfare of the people at large, enriching few, open acts of prejudice, discrimination and violent incidents, all planned and orchestrated as part of an anti-constitutional political project.

Media have been captured and gagged fully. It disseminates only such information, as the fascist government wants the people to know. Yet there is a glimmer of hope with some gutsy outstanding media professionals standing up to call a spade, spade, put their necks on the gallows and scrutinize the functioning of the government to help the people discern for themselves the truths of India, its rule of law based system of constitutional democracy and how it has been subverted by the RSS Pariwar union government. There have been attempts to demean, belittle and outlaw dissent and protests. Captive media do not disseminate such anti-democratic actions of the Sangh Pariwar government as also, denigrations of women, the growing communalism, targeted violence against minorities, increasing costs of living, unemployment and so on. These are the principal challenges the country faces. Reclaiming truthful media, robust institutions and vibrant democracy remains major challenge today. In recent times, emergence of small but credible media platforms is a welcome sign as a check on fascist’s designs.

Country is going through a grave crisis that is accentuated and made insufferable by the fact that democracy, as we know it and as it should be, barely exists any more. Communalism is not random but a product of a well-designed strategy. Trends since 2014 indicate emergence of criminal Hindutva fascism of the RSS Pariwar like the Nazism in Hitler’s then Germany. However, there is a glimmer of hope that with the emergence of the Supreme Court of India as the ultimate defender and protector of the Constitution under the stewardship of the present Chief Justice of India Justice D.Y.Chandrachud, the apex court has once again emerged as a robust, independent institution that stands as a check to the abuse of power by the executive (government). The Supreme Court, in the recent past, was working as an ‘Executive’ Court as could be seen in Himanshu Kumar and Zakia Jafri judgments and the verdict on the Prevention of Money Laundry Act. In these judgments, the Court went out of its way to bat for the executive.

Country is witnessing draconian laws invoked to suppress dissent and personal liberty; rights guaranteed under the Constitution are being violated without compunction and the majoritarian views ruthlessly foisted on the people. Communities stand divided. Those aligned with the ruling RSS Pariwar are preferred to those with alternative views. Minorities are often targeted and find themselves at the receiving end of the mighty state apparatus living in fear and insecurity. Jingoism rules the roost, with the rule of law targeting dissenting voices. Those in opposition are perceived anti-national. Forging a broad based alliance in opposition to the government is mocked, while the suspect alliances of the ruling RSS clan with insignificant motley parties projected as the alliance for the future. Some other anti-people actions during the outgoing Azadi Ka Amritkal are: governance has been communalized, police made partisan and communal, data protection law undermining people’s protection with adverse impact on press freedom, pension rules both for civil services and all India services amended to revoke pension for dissenting against government, press and registration Act amended to gag the media etc.

Country’s economy has worsened with prices of diesel, petrol and inflation in relation to essential commodities and services having resulted in people not getting access to essentials for survival of their families. Majority of the people are struggling to keep pace with the ever widening gap between their income and expenditure with no resources left to invest in the future of their children. Only 73 million out of the 150 million urban workforces have a full time job. According to the World Bank, a quarter of Indians aged 15-24 are jobless. Real wages in rural India have contracted. Focus has been shifted from welfare of the masses to the 

wellbeing of a select few. There have been drastic cuts in budgets year on year for education, shelter, employment and health of the people. GDP cannot be indicator for growth of a country as it helps the rich thrive and the poor look to survive.

 Government used ordinary Indians’ money accounts to fund willful corporate   defaulters. As a result, official information of August 8, 2023 in Parliament, revealed banks have written off bad loans worth Rs.14.56 lakh crore in the last nine financial years. A loan is classified NPA when the repayment of the principal loan amount or the interest remains outstanding for 90 days. About 30 lakh massive vacancies in the union government including its public sector enterprises and central universities remain unfilled. In addition, Over 16 lakh rich Indians (high income net worth) renounced their citizenship and migrated to greener pasteur abroad for their better prospects blaming high taxes, complex remittances and inconducive peace and social harmony for ease of doing businesses.

Foreign policy remains worrisome. It has become reactive to adverse criticisms of Indian democracy in foreign countries and media with its growing slide to electoral autocracy with structural façade of democracy remaining intact and emergence of fascism. It has also become tools for promotion of Hindutva ideology abroad.  It is unable to counter country’s slide in all development indices falling below country’s neighbors, who look down upon India with suspicion. Country’s inability to counter China’s aggression and encroachments of our land is spectacular failure of the RSS Pariwar union government’s foreign policy. Added to such multifarious problems and communalization of governance, education, mainstream captive media and social milieu, the country is in for civil disturbances, subversion and lawlessness most likely to end story of India. The worst is yet to come in the run up to the General Elections 2024!

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