India defines herself as a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC in her constitution. Most of these ideals can be covered under the broader banner of democracy. So, what makes democracy look different from other forms of governance? Because governments are there as well where there is no democracy at all. Non-democratic forms of government also usually take policy decisions according to what they think is best for them.
The most distinguishing feature of a democracy is that it is the voice of the people. When it comes to Indian democratic setup, there is a very thin line between democracy and majoritarian rule.
Democracy should not be the rule of the majority but democracy is the medium to find out the lone voices of dissent from the chaos of the majoritarian narratives.
But sadly, Indian democracy is getting degraded and the rate is unprecedented. In the name of democracy, what we have is a mob rule. The religious ultra-nationalistic rule is indeed majoritarian in nature and essentially not democratic. Populist laws like the UP ‘love-jihad’ law, CAA-NRC, attacking dissenting educational institutions like Jamia, JNU and AMU, are certainly not the characteristics of a vibrant democracy. Putting voices of dissent behind bars under UAPA like laws are not only against principles of justice but is also criminal in nature.
The entity which I think is responsible for this sorry state of our democracy is the mainstream TV journalism. There is a way out, to help in getting subscriber-based media established in parallel. The continuous vilification of dissenting voices and opposition by them is just horrible.
The way media is peddling the divisive agenda of the government is just sad. This is the time to get rid of corporate-based media. Our institutions are like, hundreds of the activists are in jail and every time, people like Arnab Goswami manage to get the earliest possible date from the highest judicial authority of the country.
A country is built on the solid foundation of independent and autonomous institutions but when they are the source of sharpest propaganda centres of the majority rule, ideals of the country are bound to be on their knees.
What can be said about a country where the prime minister has spent almost 7 years of his tenure without a single press conference.
The problem with majoritarian rule is it haunts all kinds of minorities, religious, gender, economic and everyone else. The biggest tragedy of this whole democratic comedy is that comedians like of Munawar Faruqui is in jail for last 23 days on the charge that he “may” crack a joke that would have hurt the religious sentiments of the majority.
People may argue, but I find it directly related to his identity of being Muslim. Most of the mainstream media, many of the high profile political leaders and uncountable members of the majority mob would have been in jail for genuine offences and not just on mere speculations.
It would not be wise to expect things to get set overnight. A long battle is ahead of us to get these precedents reversed and celebrate the true Republic of India, which stands for Justice, Liberty, Equality, Fraternity and most importantly the diversity.