We, the People...

When one speaks of ‘democracy’, one means ‘rule of the people’. How beautiful this concept sounds! For it implies that unlike in monarchies or plutocracies, the power to change or influence the course of history, of their own destiny, lies not in the hands of one singular person or a group of individuals, but in the hands of the people who live this destiny. Lincoln’s “government of the people, by the people, for the people” not only binds a democracy to the people but also implores the people to adhere to the values of democracy.

But then Acton has said “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Has this come to be true in India, a nation that prides itself on its ‘democratic’ traditions? Has our democracy lost its vitality, its zeal to work for the better of the people? And in truth, have the people of India lost their enthusiasm for democracy, for its institutions and for its mechanisms?

Two incidents stand out of the plethora of news flooding the television screen, incidents which serve to remind us that no matter how much we may tom-tom our democratic values, we remain a nation which has perhaps never really comprehended the true meaning of what it means to be a democracy. Two incidents, which may not seem out of the ordinary, and that they aren’t so isn’t a matter of pride or an excuse for their occurrence, but all the more reason for us to ponder over where we are headed as a nation.

At Bhagalpur, two policemen assaulted and dragged a criminal from a motorcycle till such time that he should become unconscious. And this was all done at the prodding of the crowd. That this occurred in a state notorious with the law being broken is no justification; that this occurred at the hands of the police, an institution already demonised as an unruly arm of the State, isn’t any defence. What is shocking, perhaps even more so, is that the people stood watching, encouraging the officials concerned to perform their dastardly act a little longer.

At Agra, famed city of love, an angry mob torched vehicles and brought the entire city to a standstill, all supposedly in the act of grieving for four young men killed by an errant truck-driver. And when the police went in to try and control the mob, the mass turned on them and proceeded to show them just who’s the ‘boss’.

Both incidents serve to illustrate that the people have perhaps lost their faith in the ability of the democracy that we have come to take for granted to deliver justice to them. They have decided that if justice will not come to them of its own, they will force it to come, but ‘justice’ will be done.

The two policemen have been suspended, which is a positive sign implying that no breach of the law will be permitted, especially by those entrusted with the responsibility of protecting it, but what about the mob? We are well aware that whenever we have the State committing atrocities, we have exact details on who did what. But when it comes to the masses, why is it that we choose to hide behind the illusion of the ‘faceless’ crowd?

That these incidents are but a mere footnote in our history is no reason not to wake up and smell the coffee. It is time that we decided the course of this nation, of how we will allow this nation to progress here on. And in this, we find ourselves bearing a most onerous responsibility. It will not be easy; it will certainly not be fast. But one thing’s for sure: the rule of the people must not be permitted to deteriorate into the rule of the jungle.

A deal to die for..or to die for a deal...?

The ongoing imbroglio between the Government and the Politburo is amusing, and yet at the same time, distressing.

Amusing because once again, the Left will do what it does the best: oppose the government in whatever it does. I mean, these blokes don’t have a hope in hell of ever forming the government at the Centre; their ‘appeal’ isn’t spreading beyond their strongholds (and from what I have read and understood, the term ‘stronghold’ is also becoming fast redundant in their case), and their performance in the current Lok Sabha is their best ever (and they don’t seem confident that they will ever repeat it either). So, who cares whether the Government is seen to be inept because of our interruptions and objections? We aren’t going to get this moment again, so we may as well enjoy it to the fullest.

Distressing because once again, an opportunity that might just solve our problems for generations will be thrown away by the needless posturing of politicians. Nuclear energy may have its disadvantages, but frankly tell me, is there anything on this earth, or for that matter in this universe, without its pros and cons?

The Left would have us believe, and ‘surprisingly’ (or perhaps not) so does the NDA and the rest of the ‘opposition’, that the 123 Agreement between India and the United States of America is inimical to India’s sovereign interests, that the Agreement places India firmly in the control of the United States, and does not give us any scope to demonstrate our freedom, that the agreement prevents India from ever pursuing the option of a nuclear weapon test.

First things first, are the mandarins in South and North Block bottle-suckling babies that they can be expected to take whatever their counterparts in the State Department serve them? And if the agreement places India in the U.S.’s control, then why on earth is there a lobby of Senators and Representatives eager to see this deal being scuttled? Why on earth are American citizens alleging that this deal gives India all that it wants and gets nothing in return (or at least nothing substantially) for the U.S.? (Maybe the Americans are mad, but surely not this mad?) As regards the prospects of a nuclear test, I seriously doubt anyone takes a nation which has conducted thousands of such exercises seriously when it tries to stop someone else from doing so.

All those who now accuse the government of playing into the hands of foreign interests and mortgaging the family silver have at some time or the other done the same. The Left Front suffered its greatest schism so far in 1962 during the Indo-China war over whether to support the Indian war effort or to be seen as receptive to Chinese overtures. The BJP-led NDA was seen as the party who ended India’s exile from Capitol Hill with its aggressive attempts to ingratiate with the U.S., especially with its offer to host the anti-Taliban forces during the Afghan offensive post 9/11. Hence, stop this holier-than-thou nonsense; we all know “kaun kitne paani mein hain”, as the adage goes.

That there may be some substance in the opposition to the agreement is undeniable. Sheer politics alone cannot threaten to bring down elected governments; they need a cause célèbre to do that, like the Jain Commission report in 1996 et al. The Government cannot be seen to be deaf to the objections being raised, for in such a stance lies the danger that we may not hear a conscientious voice, a valid point. The opposition must not try to scuttle the entire agreement, for in this agreement is not just the pride of the incumbent administration, but also the pride and honour of the entire nation. Clauses could be worked upon, words could be clarified, but don’t tear the entire sheet, for God’s sake!

It is clear that all the wrinkles in the deal must be ironed out not by grandstanding, but by explaining what is being entailed, in what is unclear, for things can be resolved in a much more dignified manner. Posterity will judge us for how we dealt with this opportunity; we cannot afford being seen to have let it go without due reason or cause.

Is this the right way.....?

Intolerance goes deep in our ethos. And there’s nothing that we are doing to ensure that our children are not affected by this malaise. Or perhaps we do not wish to. Whatever the reason may be, it is a sad day when thoughts and ideas are sought to be stifled at the point of a dagger, at the barrel of a gun, at the edge of a fist, and no one wants to do anything about it.

When the Faculty of Fine Arts at Baroda got embroiled in the most controversial act of permitting outsiders to enter the Faculty’s premises and beating up a student for his allegedly ‘disrespectful’ works, liberals and ‘moderates’ throughout the country rose to deplore the act. And very rightly so, for even if the student concerned was being disrespectful, that wasn’t justification enough for someone to go up to him and bash him up.

That the perpetrators belonged to an organization supposedly espousing the aspirations of the Hindu community should really have had no effect on the volume of the deprecations. After all, a fanatic anywhere is a fanatic, irrespective of his/her faith or lack of it thereof. The denunciations were heartening, because they illustrated that while the aggrieved had the right to be so, there was a ‘right’ way to resolve such conflicts, a more sophisticated and cultivated manner, if you please.

And yet, the silence when concerning Ms. Nasreen is simply shocking, nay, deplorable. Ms. Nasreen may be a controversial writer, or rather a writer who survives on courting controversy. Her writings involving her faith may verge on the edge of blasphemy and irreverence.

Nonetheless, to barge on her person, to threaten to kill her are neither reverent nor justifiable acts for anyone, no matter how sacrilegious her words may seem to anyone. Does Islam permit any man to injure or harm an unarmed woman on the mere pretext that she has dared to insult his faith? Is Islam so weak on its feet that mere words would shake its very foundations? I think not.

Frankly, politics and faith are two completely different things, and ought to be maintained so. That they have not been so far is distressing, but definitely no cause for the same being propagated through the ages. No faith teaches the path of violence, and if it does, then it is unworthy of being venerated.

Those who perpetrated these offences weren't ignorant buffoons. They were legislators, expected to know the law, and yet that they chose to break it should not be reason for letting them off easily. In fact, they should be prosecuted even more harshly. A threat to murder someone is no laughing matter, and a murderer must not be permitted to hide behind the authority of the Legislature.

There is a legal recourse that can be relied upon. It may be slow, it may be arduous, but it is the right thing. Fanaticism must not be accepted, if not for our sake, then for our children, lest they find themselves in a world where speaking itself offends someone.