We voted a man in power, out of greed for our hope and well-being.
It’s the end of the year and everyone loves countdowns, right? This is my countdown of all the “ache din” (good days) Modi has gifted us.
It has been four months since a state in our country has been under blackout, under curfews, their internet blocked, massive deployment of army personnel, leaders of their political parties jailed, where the media has been curbed.
No, I am not talking about some dictatorship, I am talking about Jammu and Kashmir. To try to put you in their shoes, can you imagine not using your phone for a day, restricting right? Well, imagine the restrictions that our brothers and sisters in Kashmir are under then.
The economy has crashed, and worse, it seems no one cares. Prices of food items have sky-rocketed, businesses have crashed, some owners have even died by suicide, and there are no jobs. From the best performing currency, we have become one of the worst in Asia. Banks are out of money, and it isn’t long before the middle class will too.
Universities have become battlegrounds. Police and students are at war. Students are being beaten like cattle, their voices not heard. In fact, their voices are forcibly muted with force. Education is being tampered with. Institutions, once at the top, that prided themselves on their scholars and their highly-respected academia, have now been turned into a joke.
News of rapes have become rampant, and each one is worse than the other. A ruling party leader (former, now) was able to kill (allegedly) the family and main the victim/survivor, and yet, roam the streets as a leader.
Our country is turning into a country with no law and order, even by the force that should uphold it. The police have been involved in extrajudicial killings, and worse, the society at large is seeing it as a great ‘act‘ and crowning them as heroes. Anarchy is knocking on our doors.
Bills and laws have started to have religious colour. First, the NRC, that excluded a lot of Indians, then the Citizenship Amendment Act that will allow all the excluded to become Indians, barring Muslims. The government passed it without breaking a sweat.
Representatives that we voted to power have forgotten that the country is bigger than any party. They have forgotten that it is not India if religion has become a part of law and governance. This ignorance has made another region burn, the Northeast.
The hope that Modi sold to us in 2014, we bought. We also believed his words in 2019, many still do. I feel resigned because the common people are asleep or pretending to be asleep. The common people are failing to realise the problems. Temples and statues seem to be more important, not food and security.
I wrote this article because I am looking for even a faint glimpse of light in the darkness that is engulfing our country. If there is some objectivity left out there, if there are yet people above parties, and for the country, ask yourself, is this the ‘ache din’ we wanted?