Indians have been a servile lot from the medieval times, always looking upto a leader to guide them to 'Ramarajya'. While many of these iconic leaders have gone down in history as the people who changed the face of Bharat, we the current movers and shakers of Indian sub-continent need to ask this to ourselves, 'Why do we allow ourselves to be led like cattle from time to time?'
After centuries of subjugation, a few free thinkers gifted us the idea of democracy through a Constitution, by, for and of the people. We got gifted the concept of free and fair elections. Adult suffrage and equality to all irrespective of caste, religion and gender were envisaged. Do not get me wrong, plenty has changed and I feel blessed to be the citizen of a free India. Yet here we are again in midst of another monarchy called the 'Modi sarkar'. Majority of Indians now look upto this one man show to solve all their problems. Be it caste based or religious discrimination, women safety, poverty, environmental degradation, agrarian crisis or any other trouble that plagues us, we expect PM Modi to be our saviour. We constantly keep forgetting to look within ourselves to find solutions and then blame the government alias Modiji for not figuring things out.
One year into the Modi sarkar, what are we seeing? Executive, legislative and judicial independence shot to hell, setting of political agendas opposed to public interest, lack of succor for victims of agrarian crisis, environmental concerns being thrown out of the window for the sake of soulless corporations, the list of failings may go on. Not much has changed and yet we the people refuse to use the gifts of democracy bestowed on us. Public debates, RTIs and writs remain the weapon of choice for a few conscientious individuals and the civil society which is sad considering that India is the second most populated country in the world.
Quoting an article I read in The Hindu today, 'The problem is not created by an individual politician like Mr Modi; it is a reflection of the consistent infantilisation of citizens in these democracies, which have eviscerated their power. What is more concerning than the dumbing down of political discourse is the public's response.'
And until people rise upto the occasion, all the cattle can do is to 'moo' away.
