Locking Down Democracy

“No crowd of any kind can assemble in the state,” said a news report where a diktat by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, has pressed the pause button on public gatherings in the state till June 30. Similarly, in other states too, such verbal diktats will be enforced and might become the norm. Till the fear of COVID19 passes, no public gatherings will be allowed, both by the State or the watchful, disapproving eyes of our neighbours.

On the other hand, visuals emerging in Tel Aviv, Israel, paint another story, one where thousands of citizens, despite the lockdown, fear and the pandemic, came to protest against the unrestrained power exercised by their Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. While maintaining physical distancing, they stood in Rabin Square, protesting loudly. The Supreme Court of Israel stood up for the citizens’ right to protest despite the pandemic!

In India, however, the future of democracy is questionable – in this lockdown, are we truly locking down democracy?

The Indian prime minister has legitimised and unleashed gossiping hoards of old uncles and aunties, whose nosiness will now be rewarded for ratting out neighbourhood lovers, fitness enthusiasts and anyone with half-a-brain or independent thought.

For starters, the diktat that prevents gatherings, even if they abide by physical distancing rules, is detrimental for the idea of an opposition. As witnessed in Israel, the freedom to protest against perceived injustice is what keeps democracies alive. If people and local politicians aren’t allowed to help, come out or even show solidarity with those suffering through the lockdown and the impending recession, it will have startling implications for the democratic functioning of the country. What happens if people are fed-up of the excesses of State power or the failure of the administration to deliver, look after or even ensure their well-being? Will they have to wait till June 30 to register their complaints?

An anecdote from Surat points to a distressing trend: there is heavy centralisation by the state and central governments, which is affecting the multi-party structure of the country. It’s bizarre: all relief and care from NGOs, political parties and families must be routed through the district administration!

Local opposition leaders or pressure groups, who cater to the interests of their communities, cannot come out to look after the   poor people in crisis, homeless, stranded, starving, in perpetual fear and uncertainty; they can only hope to drop the relief material off at the centre and leave it up to the distribution plan of the administration, who will then take credit for the work themselves, which will then be given to the state government, who will then declare that it was because of the generosity of the central leadership.

And if the opposition parties do anything on their own, they will be publicly shamed as bumbling idiots who ‘do politics’ and prioritise themselves over the ‘nation’.

The courts must check the excesses of the ruling dispensation, the police and any other arm of the State that violates human freedom and rights. It must ensure that the Indian State isn’t going overboard and keep it in check, despite there being a pandemic on. Surely, it isn’t doing that.

MEANWHILE, THE DEMOCRATIC machinery has come to a grinding halt. Indians had elections slated for later this year in Bihar and panchayat elections in various states in December, 2019. Now, we haven’t heard anything about these, while the panchayat elections in MP have been cancelled and so have the Rajya Sabha elections. Indeed, voting isn’t like Wimbledon, the Olympics or the Euro Cup, which can be postponed to 2021; we must receive assurance from the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the central government on what is the future of the elections.

Should we care about what happens to them?

Yes! We should be having a conversation about the future of democracy, elections, party politics. The BJP didn’t care when they toppled the MP government and neither should other parties. They should push the ECI to set up voting booths that ensure physical distancing, longer, phased out voting, that can ensure public safety. But, we can only think about this post-June.

As ‘politics’, ‘mobilisation’, civic engagement and any thoughts of elections are apparently on hold till June 30, one would rely on another institution – the courts, to keep democracy functioning and flourishing. The idea of constitutionalism divides the State into several bits and bobs: the executive, the legislative and the judiciary. Each of these organs must function independently and keep the other in check. Also, democracy is made up of an independent media that must take all of these three institutions to the task and build transparency in society, and a vibrant civil society that acts as a pressure group demanding better things from all of the institutions. This is the idea of an active citizenry – one that actively shows its displeasure and/or approval for policy, but forces the legislative structure to heel to its might.

The Supreme Court has become a background process of the system User Interface of Indian democracy. It’s there, but we’d never know it. It’s behaving like the septuagenarian it is: fumbling in the dark for its dentures or a spine, whatever it finds first, to give the false hope that it has teeth and is interested in the protection of civil liberties and the rights of the people. In a recent interview with The Hindu, Chief Justice of India SA Bobde has, seemingly, put his hands up, much like the shrugging emoji, by saying, “Men, Material and Manpower” are with the executive, so what can we do?” 

The courts must check the excesses of the ruling dispensation, the police and any other arm of the State that violates human freedom and rights. It must ensure that the Indian State isn’t going overboard and keep it in check, despite there being a pandemic on.

Surely, it isn’t doing that.

So, what is the future of Indian democracy, and how can we make it work from home?

THE PARTY IN power is pretty much going ahead gung-ho as if on a war-footing to muzzle dissent, logic and contrarian opinion. It hasn’t paused its systematic dismantling of the idea of an active and or critical civil society by arresting activists and students and threatening to arrest journalists and muzzle their voice, while militarising the idea of civic participation as a mass surveillance tool. The Indian prime minister has legitimised and unleashed gossiping hoards of old uncles and aunties, whose nosiness will now be rewarded for ratting out neighbourhood lovers, fitness enthusiasts and anyone with half-a-brain or independent thought.

Now, the obvious cry to this sentence is: ‘Why should anyone get out?’

This brings me to the third institution that has crumbled in the face of panic and fear.

People, regular citizens, themselves, have readily left their rights, logic, rationality and brain at their doors, much like a pair of dirty slippers, afraid that they might carry in dirt or the disease. This is an alarming situation as it brings back the old social contract – of fear and protection. A Hobbesian contract, the rebirth of the Totalitarian State, the Regis, the King.

And, while we can debate the idea of the freedom of speech and expression, the tweet by Kangana Ranaut’s sister, Rangoli, requesting the cancellation of any future frivolous expense on elections, points to just that. And the immense rallying around her tweet makes it clear that India or its citizens really aren’t interested in the idea of democracy.

Next time? 

So, what is the future of Indian democracy, and how can we make it work from home?