When Opposition is deemed Anti National
The rise of Modi has ushered in a new era of Nationalism,
with Modi deciding almost every facet of our lives. e.g making us get up early
on World Yoga day to do Yoga, BJP-led Mahrashtra government banning beef and
thus deciding our diet etc, etc. I know I should have used the term BJP led
government but we have voted not BJP but 56” chest Modi to power. As a result
we have stepped into Modi-era. Things have changed for all of us since. His
voyeuristic usage of media to propagate himself as dictator and protector of
everything ‘National’. Of all his
disturbing tactics the one which I find very disturbing is his dubbing of
Opposition which is unconstitutional and unparliamentary.
India is a parliamentary democracy. It is the basic feature
of our constitution. The basic feature of the constitution cannot be amended as
held by the Supreme court Keshvanand Bharti V/s Union of India. One of the
basic features of parliamentary democracy is the role of opposition. The leader
of the party which has maximum seats becomes the Prime Minister of the country
and he appoints Ministers amongst his party as his council of ministers. The
leader of second largest party having no less than 1/10th seats of
the total strength of the house is recognized as the Leader of opposition. The
leader of Opposition thus too enjoys the mandate of the people. The provision
of the Leader of Opposition is prevalent in both the Houses of the Parliament.
The main role of the leader of opposition is to provide constructive criticism
of polices of the government and be the
voice of the subalteran. It with this in view the offices of Leader of
opposition in both the houses were accorded statutory status in 1977. It was
however only in 1969 that an official leader of opposition was recognized.
The office of leader of opposition is prevalent in almost
all major democracies. In the British parliamentary setup it is called a Shadow
Cabinet. It is so called because almost every member of the ruling party is
‘shadowded’ by a corresponding member from the opposition. In the American
scheme of things he is called a ‘minority leader’.
In India, the Leader of opposition enjoys the status of a
minister and is paid by the government.
Nehru, while
underlining the importance of the role of opposition once quoted “ I do not
want India to be a country in which millions of people say “yes” to a man. I
want a strong opposition”.
He was completely aware that the
indirect form of democracy practiced by us has the power to turn the leader of
the Lower House into a democratic dictator. He was aware that such a democratic
dictator by the virtue of powers vested in him by the constitution will in no
time rip apart the delicate of fabric of democracy which was envisioned to be
woven by the constitution makers.
Having said this, I do not wish to elaborate more on the
parliamentary role of the opposition party. I now shift the focus on how ‘we
the people’ react to any form of criticism leveled against the present
government.
It is heart wrenching to see the role of opposition dubbed
so crassly.
Both Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi are elected representatives
of people, in the same spirit as Modi is. So, why does any criticism leveled by
them is turned into a joke? It makes me wonder if elected representatives are
subjected to such harassment for doing their job, what will be the outcome if a
commoner like me tries to bring out the fallacy in functioning of the
government. A journalist friend of mine once said he now thinks twice before
uploading criticism of the present government on social media. A member of the
fourth pillar of democracy now lives under such fear. My cousins’ show on regional
television was pulled down after he made a slight inconvenient remark about the
Sangh Parivar. Also, the editor-in-chief of a government of India publication
was made to resign, post the transfer of power. He ended his last editorial
with a beautiful piece titled ‘The exile
of Buddha’. I would like to quote a part of his editorial published in
February 2015 edition. (it is a direct reproduction)
“Around 5th cent BC, the republican states of Lichavi and
Sakya had an institutional system called santhagara which was used to debate
issues of vital importance to the republic, including disputes between various
constituents of the republic. Buddha was initiated into the Sakya Santhagara at
the age of 20. When he was 28, there was a dispute over sharing of water of
Rohini river between Sakyas and Koilyas. The Sakya military commander was in favour of
war on Koliyas which Siddhartha opposed. But the peace proposal of Siddhartha
was defeated miserably during voting. Siddhartha had to face exile. Buddha may
have been defeated and exiled but the idea of republic and settling of disputes
without the use of force has survived. The republican spirit has survived as a
guiding spirit for nations.”
Buddha paid the price for voicing his
dissenting opinion.
Our understating of constructive criticism has reduced to
the simplicity of a linear equation. i.e. Anti Modi = Anti BJP = Congress. Any
criticism about government polices is enough to term one as 'anti-national'. It
is time we understood that in a diverse country like ours, homogenous and
monolithic opinions are not possible. Infact for proper functioning of
Democracy dissenting voices of the masses is required. It is when the
government can accommodate criticism, dissent within itself without subjugating
such voices can we say we have succeeded as a Democratic nation.
The present government probably enjoys the youngest mandate
in our electoral history. This was the first time that children of ‘post
liberalization era’ voted a leader to lead the largest democracy of the world.
This generation enjoys incessant social media access and internet based
information.
It was anticipated that BJP might provide a good alternative
to Congress. With Modi’s obsession to enjoy unquestionable power is leaving
behind a bad precedence in parliamentary democratic structure. His
understanding of power is completely influenced by the nurturing of the Sangh
wherein the patriarchal Parivar is highly stratified and the upper crust enjoys
unquestioning authority. It should be remembered ‘power corrupts and absolute
power corrupts absolutely’.
A Bharat Bandh is called for on 28th November
against the governments’ decision on demonetization. However if you wish to
participate in the bandh let me warn you that you are against Modi. But if you
oppose this band you are against corruption and with Modi. To simplify it even
more, if you are supporting the bandh you are anti Modi and therefore anti
national. I am befuddled as
to how anything said against the government can make one anti national. If the
recent move towards demonetization is criticized then you are labeled as
hoarder of black money and standing in the way of national development. It is
funny to see equivalents been drawn between standing in the queue of a bank to
withdraw your own money and that of soldiers fighting on the border. It is questionable when the the Leader of the House chooses to deliver emotional speeches on the Pandals but refuses to make even slightest comment in the Parliament even when urged upon by the Members of Parliament.
I sincerely feel that it is time we stop acting like a herd
of cattle being influenced by the mediocrity of social media and for once start
thinking with our own accord. We seek to establish a nation which values its
diversity. This diversity is not only cultural or geographical but is also
intellectual. Let there be thesis and anti-thesis of ideas. It is only then can
we move ahead. Dissenting opinions and opposing ideas are equally essential. Also,
the power to define what is national and anti national should not be left with
only person or organization. It will be a dangerous situation to live in. I do want not live under the fear of being
castigated as anti national if I question the mainstream. This is not the India
that the makers of this nation envisaged.
In conclusion I would like to quote a poem by Rabindranath
Tagore which I feel sums up the article.
When the mind is without fear
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where the words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches it arms
towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost
its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my
country awake.
-Rabindranath Tagore
