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| Source : Internet |
According
to a recent V-Dem report, India has deviated from the path of democracy. Even
according to the EIU report, India's ranking has dropped. Accordingly, if we
analyze this data from 2006 to 2020, it is understood that in 2014, India was
at the highest place as a democracy. Since then, there has been only a decline.
Today, therefore, there is a lot of discussion about the rise of fascism and
dictatorship in the country. At the same time, there are various movements for
the protection of democracy. But judging by the historical documents, can it be
said that India was a democracy before, it is no more? Going back to the past,
however, the history of occupation that began with the arrival of the Aryans in
India and ended with the end of British rule, was India able to establish a
democratic state immediately after that? No couldn't. And so the throne of
seventeen years of India's first prime minister was with almost zero
opposition. Even the attempt to suppress the voice of the opposition through
emergency during the first twelve years of Indira Gandhi's reign cannot be
termed as democracy. So, it must be admitted that even though electoral
democracy has always been the mask of India's governance, its face is actually
towards one-party politicization. Even today, the Congress, one of the
country's main opposition parties, has not been able to assert its leadership
outside the Gandhi family. But will the responsibility for this semi-democratic
and semi-dictatorship rule rest solely with the political parties or will the
people also have to share it?
In
fact, in a real democracy, the people are the main commitment, not the leaders.
Therefore, not only the leader, but also the masses have to achieve conscious
discipline, fairness, perseverance, tolerance and honesty. Attitudes like ‘I
don’t understand politics’, ‘I have no interest in politics’, ‘Politics is
dirty mud’ etc. only support one type of escapism, and it does not establish
great and large democracy. Yet the only grievance of the masses in
post-independence India is that there is no great leader in our country who, as
soon as he sits in the masnad, the
price rise and corruption will be eradicated from the country, job
opportunities and income will increase and above all women's freedom and
freedom of speech will be established. But if that were the case, the shadow of
happiness, prosperity and security would descend on social life even after the
extreme lethargy of the people. Whatever it is, it is not democracy.
And
this state of mind of the people, that is, the desire and longing for the
emergence of a great leader, has nurtured the idea of ‘Ramarajatva’ today and at the same time has given birth to the
first step of true dictatorship. Therefore,
such a leader has emerged today according to the needs of the people, but he
has not been able to separate himself from the character of the masses and
become the founder of a truly democratic and welfare state. We also find support of this
undemocratic attitude amidst the patriarchal familism in India. The importance
of the views of fathers and grandfathers is still sufficient in a family today,
because he is the guardian and protector of the family, he is also the place of
dependence of the whole family. Equally in the case of the country too, the
people expect such a patriarchal leader. As a result, it is not possible to
establish real democracy in the country until the idea of patriarchal ‘Ramarajatva’ disappears from the minds
of the people. And so, it is useless to lament that there is no democracy
today, because democracy never existed in this country.
The
meaning of democracy that is established in the hearts of the poorest classes
and many rich people of India is the right to vote, that is the circle that
must be crossed today. Because this is the only way to resist the national and
nationalist capital that has been born in the country today and to stop its
monopoly power. Otherwise an endless dictatorship will be created. Not the old
historical wheel, people have to find new ways to defeat it. Today, therefore,
people have to determine their position irrespective of language, caste, creed
and religion. The world will wait and see where the sun rises in the destiny of
India - dystopia, utopia or some new position in the middle.
