While Indian citizens reminisce their Constitutional rights, the government seems to be slowly tilting its ways from a democratic setup to an authoritarian form of leadership. Gone are the days when the people of India used to raise their voice and fight for their rights; now the situation demands us to stay quiet, for if you speak a word against the government, ‘social media ranting’ will become a tagline for your life.
The media, also known as the fourth pillar of our government machinery, is seeing its rank decline in the Freedom of Press Journal, as they are being coerced into depicting a perfidious face of the administration. This makes me recollect the Emergency days of 1975, when the electricity of media houses was cut so that nothing crucial could be published that would reveal the fallacious image of the Indian government.
We all are slowly and eventually witnessing an erosion of our basic civil liberties where we are being made to question our very existence in the form of infringement of our Constitutional rights. The very idea of a civil servant stands in doldrums as they are put in a situation of constant dilemma and threat causing them to make decisions in favour of our elected government and not the welfare of our citizens.
The cash cows in the form of our revenue reaches the government and culminates into the Statue of Unity as well as a new Parliament building that is truly uncalled for. As privatisation makes its way to the governmental arena, there are very few in the society who will be able to avail of such services.
For all its rhetoric of wealth distribution, it appears that the government has been the benefactor of a massive transfer of our wealth over the last 21 years. Extracting data between 1997 and 2018, it has been found that the average Indian increased her per capita income at a rate of 7.2% every year over the last 21 years. On the other hand, the Union Government increased its income at more than double the rate, i.e. 14.44%.
Unfortunately, we have a section of the administration who believes that their methods of wealth distribution, subsidies and quotas are the way forward. It is with a sad realisation that I want to reiterate that providing a mere amount of Rs 6,000 a year to farmers under the PM Kisan Yojana won’t fetch long-term benefits but will only meet the compromised manifesto set during the election days.
We belong to a piece of machinery wherein you ought to pause all your activities while the convoy of a politician traverses their section of the roadway. And at the corner, you witness a uniformed policeperson who slowly kills their conscience inside and raises their hand to salute the convoy. Well, they have a name for this exercise too. Protocol. Period!
As the school-going children of today become eligible to exercise their franchise as adults, it is my hidden-and-next-to-unfulfilling desire that all Indians are able to live fulfilling lives without the threat of government powers used against them.
Note: The article was originally published here.