4 Recent Episodes Which Frown Upon Indian Democracy

Today, on International Democracy Day, let us practice the vital element in a democracy, i.e. ‘criticism’. While India proclaims herself of being a democracy, her actions make the statement of hypocrisy. 

4 Recent Episodes Which Frown Upon Indian Democracy  [Photo: Studio Art Smile]

In 2007, United Nations declared the 15th of September as World Democracy Day to promote the importance and principles of democracy. 

The world’s largest democracy has been facing many questions in the recent past at both national and international levels. 

Here are some of the recent incidents which glare upon the nation’s validity as a republic. 

Attempts to choke Farmer Protests 

The Northern States of India are witnessing a resilient and non-violent protest by Indian farmers, mostly from the states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh since 9th August last year. 

Attempts to choke Farmer Protests [Photo: PTI]

Instigated by three Farm Bills passed by the ruling party in the absence of the opposition in both the houses of the parliament, farmers from all around the country retaliated by blocking off the entry points to the capital city of Delhi.  

They claimed the bills put too much power in the hands of the corporate and hence, might privatize the whole agricultural economy of the nation.  

Since then, the protest has faced frequent bloodshed and political harassment. 

On January 29th, Home Ministry had disconnected all internet connections in the areas where the Farmers had set their camps. The move was presented as a measure to “maintain public safety and avert public emergency”, although it was to disarm the protestors. 

Social media had popularised the movement to the extent that international activists, Hollywood stars, and NRIs also protested the current government. 

Three days later, Haryana’s double engine government decided to cut down the water and electricity supplies to the protest areas. 

On 2nd April, Rakesh Tikait’s convoy was attacked in Rajasthan. Tikait, leader of Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) and one of the prime heads in the farmer protest, has also been victim to numerous fake news about him. 

This indirect endeavor of the State to choke freedom of speech and expression which is promised to the citizen in Article 19(A) of the Indian Constitution, highlights the failure of the administration in securing human rights.  

The protest is still strong amidst an Indian political hailstorm. 

Ignorance towards Pegasus Spyware Controversy 

The Central Government of India has been accused of spying over 300 Indian citizens including journalists, ministers, scientists, opposition leaders, activists, businessmen, and other VIPs using Pegasus spyware. 

Ignorance towards Pegasus Spyware Controversy [Photo: sci.gov.in]

Pegasus is a spy software manufactured by an Israeli company, NSO Group, which can be implanted in any phone to infiltrate text messages, call logs, chats, and other user data. 

Wire, an Indian Non-Profit Media Organisation, along with 16 other international media firms, accessed the leaked database of NSO to discover this intrusion of privacy. 

Although the Indian Government has denied the allegations, NSO has confirmed they only work with governments, implying the deed is accountable to the Centre. 

The BJP ruled administration has also failed to submit a detailed affidavit of the case as asked by the Supreme Court in two cases. 

The Supreme Court of India had made the Right to Privacy a fundamental right of the people under the constitution in the year 2017. The hindrance in the privacy of all those who were under surveillance by the government threatens a fundamental right and democracy as a whole. 

Arrests made to gag voices 

Recent years have seen a rise in the arrest of citizens who oppose or criticize the government. Although the list is long, only a few make the headlines. Here are a few of them. 

Dr. Kafeel Khan 

Dr. Kafeel Khan has been arrested on several occasions, be it for saving the lives of young children or supporting movements in favour of the minority.  

Dr. Kafeel Khan [Photo: PTI]

In 2017, he was made a scapegoat in the Gorakhpur oxygen crisis tragedy where several children died due to insufficiency of oxygen. 

He managed and transported oxygen cylinders at the last moment which saved a few lives. 

This gave the media a chance to glorify the doctor while the Yogi Adityanath government was questioned. 

Soon, he was arrested and was jailed for 9 months before the Allahabad High Court released him of all charges. He was again arrested after he gave a speech in 2019, supporting the CAA protests. It was asserted that he incited the crowd and was charged under sedition. 

He was released in September 2020 by the Supreme Court. 

Umar Khalid 

Second in line is activist Umar Khalid who has been a target for the government since 2016, when he was arrested during the JNU sedition row. 

Umar Khalid [Photo: PTI]

He was arrested back then under no proof but based on allegations of shouting anti-national slogans during a protest although he was soon released. 

Last year, he was arrested again during the Delhi Riots, again without any proof. He had spent over a year in jail until he was released by the Delhi High Court last month. 

Moreover, it was found that the arrest was made by the Delhi Police, which is under the Central Government, based on news broadcasted by Republic Bharat. 

It was the nexus of the police, the government, and the media which harassed the activist. 

Disha Ravi 

Disha Ravi is another victim of undemocratic arrests based on sedition law on 14th February 2020. 

This happened after Swiss environmental activist Greta Thunberg tweeted in support of the Farmer Protest in India. 

Disha Ravi [Photo: Midday]

Ravi herself is an environmental activist connected to Thunberg who sent the Indians a toolkit to vocalize and popularise the movement properly through social media and the internet. 

The government framed this as an anti-national act and arrested Ravi. 

Later on, she was released by the apex court.  

Sedition Law of Section 124A, a law made by the British to suppress the Indians during their rule, has been retained to date for a similar purpose as can be witnessed by the given cases. The law doesn’t exist in Great Britain at this point as they have repealed it. 

Response of the Media to all the above 

None of the above-mentioned cases were reported by the mainstream media against the government. Rather stories were made framing farmers as Khalistanis and the sedition victims as anti-nationals. 

This has led to a rise in the viewership of the online news portals that disseminated unbiased news. 

So much so, the ranking of India’s Press freedom in the Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders is 142nd amongst 180. They went further to quote India as officially life-threatening for Journalists. 

A democracy cannot be true to its core without an honest and aware media who are responsible to the citizen. There is a need to be aware of the political diaspora and act accordingly so that we can celebrate democracy every day. 

Author  

Archan Kundu