Over the past couple of days, a major chunk of the small talk within the general public has been about the change in temperature of the Indian political sphere. Some of us are still justifying every government action, some of us get triggered and often take offence, some of us are still not able to accept the governance that we’re all living under.
A lot of us are just discussing the kind of rarely-occurring political plots, which are not far from those Netflix shows that usually keeps us hooked onto the screens. Finally, it has now reached a tipping point, where this has also begun questioning our very own constitution, through bills like the Citizenship Amendment Bill, now an Act.
What all has not happened in the past few months! The cases of increasing violence against women, a rise in incidents related to lynching in different parts of the country, the economic distress and slamming the economic reports by the ruling government, the fading power of autonomic institutions like RBI.
A lot has become law, which is against our very own Constitution and is continuing just because there is no real opposition, not to mention the Hindu-Muslim saga, which is not a new plot anyway. Also, the shutdown of the Kashmir Valley, the situation in the North-east, which comes along with NRC and CAB, the economic downfall, the drama that has unfolded in Maharashtra, and a lot more, the student protests happening against the Citizenship Amendment Act across most of India, and the list is endless, indeed.
BJP is gliding through their victory after coming in for a second term. They are enjoying the power that comes along with this, and there are clear indications of them moving towards a neo-fascist regime. We have seen signs of this happening, in Kashmir, when Article 370 was scrapped and the whole region was guiltlessly isolated from the rest of India, the political leaders kept under house arrest till date, most of the media houses being funded and owned by them, and the rest being silenced.
From this misuse of power to the state-sponsored coercive action in the recent Jamia Milia attack, with the police barging into the college premises, beating students and taking them into custody. No need to mention what is going on in Assam, which has been burning silently, since there is no way that their voice reaches us. I would say, BJP is at its strongest in the entire history post-formation, and probably enjoying the fruits they’ve grown from the seeds dispersed during the Babri Masjid period in the 90s and their long-awaited dream of an entire Hindu Rashtra (nation).
The BJP government has, time-and-again, shown their arrogance and ignorance towards the economic reports as well, which would have shown us the real blueprint of our economy, which subsequently does not see the light of the day for obvious reasons. Not to mention the oppression against those who speak against their idea of reforms using force and state-sponsored crimes of hate. At a recent event, industrialist Rahul Bajaj opined that there is an “atmosphere of fear, people are afraid to criticise the government.”
They don’t give importance to any of the ratings of qualified agencies as well, who have downgraded India’s economic growth. India’s GDP growth over the last 6 quarters was, in percentages, 8.0, 7.0, 6.6, 5.8, 5.0 and 4.5, but all they do is justify their actions and giving false numbers without shame.
This shows the level of ignorance towards those who voted them to power, through problematic statements that are against the foundation of this “Republic, Independent, and Secular” India. Some days back, a leader has opined that since no marriages are called off, there is no slowdown. A BJP minister also claimed that since three movies collectively earned Rs 120 crore and so, there’s no economic slowdown at all.
I don’t know what “Vikas” (development) and “acche dinn” (good days) Modi talks about in almost every speech he delivers. I still remember those voices who argued in favour of demonetisation. To those ‘bhakts’—you guys should read more, rather than hearing Modi’s ‘orgasmic‘ speeches.
Amit Shah and Modi have been steering the wheel of our economy to its doom, and playing with the age-old proven formula of caste divisions, and through religious clash agendas by fueling the Hindu-Muslim fights like that of the past.
Here, I would like to remind you the words from the former Gujarat chief minister, Shankarsinh Vaghela, who was earlier a part of the BJP, “Shah is the only one Modi has relied on and, together, they may have retained power, but they destroyed the BJP in Gujarat organisationally and ideologically.”
I would like to remind you about the Gujarat riots in 2002 when Modi was the CM and Amit Shah was the then Home Minister of the state, and the aftermath of this bloody Hindu-Muslim riots during which Gujarat was burning. I’m obliged to believe in the statement that history repeats itself.
RBI’s autonomy is almost lost to this government, the number of resignations we’ve seen by the governers in the last couple of years are not usual incidents in a strong economy and directly reflects the state of affairs. Also, the borrowings by the government from RBI’s reserves to the tune of ₹1.76 lakh crore isn’t justified because, more than the liquidity crunch or to say that the private organisations lack money, the truth is that they do not want to invest in India.
Consequently, the total investment has declined to less than 30% of GDP, the lowest in the last 15 years. The GST numbers are going down as well, because of lower consumer demand due to the slowdown. Lower consumer spending, increasing unemployment rate, the plight of NBFC and automobile sectors and various others, a sharp increase in prices of the vegetables, dairy products, and necessities, are just some bruises on this economy, as of now.
Is India still a democracy? This question might have struck a lot of us. It is indeed, but there are clear signs that we’re moving towards a neo-fascist regime. Neo-fascism represents a continual evolution of fascism with resemblances in certain ways with the ‘historic fascism‘ and distinct features specific to the political economy and culture of each country.
The three main characteristics of its main form are dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, and strong regimentation of society. I don’t see we’re lacking in any of them in these dark times. But, we’ve seen a lot more through history and has evolved again and again, through hope, non-violence, secularism, and love which are the very own foundations that I’ve talked about earlier. We’ll come out of it strong, together.
This festering wound has only one solution, and that is in the hands of the people, just in case we care about the future rather than falling for the speeches where we are regarded as “mitron” (friend) when none of their actions proves it that way. While they’re only focusing on building statues, renaming cities, building temples, spreading violence and sponsoring the increasing state of unrest and unjust, why don’t they realise that all we need is just peace?