As democracy is seeping in slowly all over the world, there is an organization which is monitoring the degree of democracy in the individual countries, The Economist Intelligence Unit. As such in each country there are diverse factors which on one hand work to deepen it, while others weaken it. Overall there is a march from theoretical democracy to substantive one. The substantive democracy will herald not just the formal equality, freedom and community feeling in the country but will be founded on the substantive quality of these values. In India while the introduction of modern education, transport, communication laid the backdrop of beginning of the process, the direction towards deepening of the process begins with Mahatma Gandhi when he led the non-cooperation movement in 1920, in which average people participated. The movement of freedom for India went on to become the ‘greatest ever mass movement’ in the World.
The approval and standards for democracy were enshrined in Indian Constitution, which begins ‘We the people of India’, and was adopted on 26th January 1950. With this Constitution and the policies adopted by Nehru the process of democratization started seeping further, the dreaded Emergency in 1975, which was lifted later restored democratic freedoms in some degree. This process of democratisation is facing an opposition since the decade of 1990s after the launch of Ram Temple agitation, and has seen the further erosion with BJP led Government coming to power in 2014. The state has been proactively attacking civil liberties, pluralism and participative political culture with democracy becoming flawed in a serious way. And this is what got reflected in the slipping of India by ten places, to 51st, in 2019. On the index of democracy India slipped down from the score of 7.23 to 6.90. The impact of sectarian BJP politics is writ on the state of the nation, country.
Ironically this lowering of score has come at a time when the popular protests, the deepening of democracy has been given a boost and is picking up with the Shaheen Bagh protests. The protest which began in Shaheen Bagh, Delhi in the backdrop of this Government getting the Citizenship amendment Bill getting converted into an act and mercilessly attacking the students of Jamia Milia Islamia, Aligarh Muslim University along with high handed approach in Jamia Nagar and neighbouring areas. From 15th December 2019, the laudable protest is on.
It is interesting to note that the lead in this protest has been taken by the Muslim women, from the Burqa-Hijab clad to ‘not looking Muslim’ women and was joined by students and youth from all the communities, and later by the people from all the communities. Interestingly this time around this Muslim women initiated protest has contrast from all the protests which earlier had begun by Muslims. The protests opposing Shah Bano Judgment, the protests opposing entry of women in Haji Ali, the protests opposing the Government move to abolish triple Talaq. So far the maulanas from top were initiating the protests, with beard and skull cap dominating the marches and protests. The protests were by and large for protecting Sharia, Islam and were restricted to Muslim community participating.
This time around while Narendra Modi pronounced that ‘protesters can be identified by their clothes’, those who can be identified by their external appearance are greatly outnumbered by all those identified or not identified by their appearance.
The protests are not to save Islam or any other religion but to protect Indian Constitution. The slogans are structured around ‘Defence of democracy and Indian Constitution’. The theme slogans are not Allahu Akbar’ or Nara-E-Tadbeer’ but around preamble of Indian Constitution. The lead songs have come to be Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s ‘Hum Dekhenge’, a protest against Zia Ul Haq’s attempts to crush democracy in the name of religion. Another leading protest song is from Varun Grover, ‘Tanashah Aayenge…Hum Kagaz nahin Dikhayenge’, a call to civil disobedience against the CAA-NRC exercise and characterising the dictatorial nature of the current ruling regime.
While BJP was telling us that primary problem of Muslim women is Triple talaq, the Muslim women led movements has articulated that primary problem is the very threat to Muslim community. All other communities, cutting across religious lines, those below poverty line, those landless and shelter less people also see that if the citizenship of Muslims can be threatened because of lack of some papers, they will be not far behind in the victimization process being unleashed by this Government.
While CAA-NRC has acted as the precipitating factor, the policies of Modi regime, starting from failure to fulfil the tall promises of bringing back black money, the cruel impact of demonetisation, the rising process of commodities, the rising unemployment, the divisive policies of the ruling dispensation are the base on which these protest movements are standing. The spread of the protest movement, spontaneous but having similar message is remarkable. Shaheen Bagh is no more just a physical space; it’s a symbol of resistance against the divisive policies, against the policies which are increasing the sufferings of poor workers, the farmers and the average sections of society.
What is clear is that as identity issues, emotive issues like Ram Temple, Cow Beef, Love Jihad and Ghar Wapasi aimed to divide the society, Shaheen Bagh is uniting the society like never before. The democratisation process which faced erosion is getting a boost through people coming together around the Preamble of Indian Constitution, singing of Jan Gan Man, waving of tricolour and upholding the national icons like Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, Ambedkar and Maulana Azad. One can feel the sentiments which built India; one can see the courage of people to protect what India’s freedom movement and Indian Constitution gave them.
Surely the communal forces are spreading canards and falsehood against the protests. As such these protests which is a solid foundation of our democracy. The spontaneity of the movement is a strength which needs to be channelized to uphold Indian Constitution and democratic ethos of our beloved country.
Comments
They should have sold them to Muslims when they were healthy, at least cow owners could have made some money.....Huge financial loss for poor farmers.....please get ride cow politics from the society....you cannot make vote out of it....it is too late now...let the people eat beef who are interested and enjoy...if BJP are not interested just shut their mouth and keep quite...
Cows in custody of muslims are only mathas rest are........
Viren Kotian, Udupi..... How do you say \ one particular community \" You are totally wrong... Christians, Hindus and Muslims are eating beef....Up date your knowledge...."
@ viren kotian jiiii
if human mother die.. their own son or daughter they will take care about them,
but here u r saying right ur mother is cow , what ur comments here we need that
please take care of ur own mother the
Ha ha...Viren....
Mother's will die even human...but will you leave your mother to be rotten on streets.......as you do... you stop mother GO politics and do something by your own ....did you ever serve a cow or your own mother..?
Dear Viren/Naren,
Do you give your mother better care and try to give best treatment if she is hospitalized or she is sick? If yes. Why not to your mother cow. Don't give unnecessaary comments which divide the communities. Go and save these dying cows. God will give you reward for saving these mothers. Every one die that every one knows. Then why you spend money for hospitalization
If only the holy cow could write an essay on her everyday life in India & voice her concern on people killing & getting killed in her name.
Indian people are treating a human being as an animal on the grounds that he/she ate an animal (cow).
this indian people never change their emotional they even cant allow to eat or live.
this makes more beef trade. lets have some fun.
It clearly shows that nobody can change the cruelty of the animals, let leave everything to the almighty, lets allow ghost eat the feast everyday,,.
Beef ban and ban on cow slaughter is the most idiotic law. It is sure the cows will have a slow death of starvation and thirst.
these groups if they are really interested in truly breeding sacred animal , then why 30 cows perish in a day ??? its all just for politics only! even the labors of the shed not paid for months?? india today has exposed these \gau rakshas\" politics !!!"
Achedin for cow vigilantes but bad day for cows and other civilized people. The expense of the cows should be inquired by Supreme court monitored SIT!
the whole population there must be living in fear & may not be coming out of their houses as the chaddi baniyan gang from the cow vigilante brigade must be wanting to thrash the daylight out of these residents?May be sec.144 should be in place or may be security forces be sent.Another problem is the traditional professionals who skin dead cows may also be scared of the above brigade as they also will be thrashed.That leaves govt.in a dilemma what to do, really pitiable situation in this sleepy state?May be FDI should be welcome from foreign countries,who could help us clean this problem?God save us!
Not only cows, human mother also will die. No one is permanent in this world. stop this politics. Here nobody ate mother's flesh unlike the members of one particular community.
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