For a regime that has become unpopular for its tactics to silence, it’s critics and dissenters raising a raid becomes a convenient category for shaming and embarrassing their efforts and capacity to take up a stand on issues influencing and impacting us.
How can we criminalise the diversity of ideas, views and opinions as is being done in order to create command and obedience for authority, autocracy and power? If it were so, the state could have easily misused and muzzled the laws of freedom of speech and expression as is taking place in prosperous nations like Russia and China, comparatively ahead of us in terms of trade, technique and technology.
As for the state’s cynicism and suspicion, people’s democratic mobilisation and movement are seen as a hindrance in furthering the fulfilment of the core nationalist project. India after 2014 has leapt in this direction where the ruler is right by being wrong as nobody has the discretion to call them out loud for their missteps. We silently suffer and bear the brunt.
So what if you are a Taapsee Pannu or an Anurag Kashyap? Defiance has to be disreputed, disdained and disregarded, breaking your courage, confidence and conviction. No doubt we were once a tolerant republic, but not anymore. Our acceptance and acknowledgement for pride and propaganda rolling, running and sponsoring the state has led us to this.