We as a country are proud to call ourselves democratic. We
are often denoted as the world’s biggest democratic experiment. Never mind that
it doesn’t mean much to any of us mango people. Students prosecuted for cheering
the neighboring country, artist jailed for a cartoon, a self-righteous group
(ironically named Shiksha bachao andolan) decides what this country will read,
prosecution for a criticizing face book comment; Anything that’s offence to
anyone is deemed objectionable and removed from the public eye. This sense of
being wronged in not just felt by the over-zealous crowds but also by the
state. The level of state sponsored censorship is quite high and so ruthless
and unapologetic in nature, that I fear a day will come when the government
shall ban anything that doesn’t pass their test of cultural morality.
Additionally they would prescribe freedom for only those which don’t ‘hurt any religious
sentiments’ after seeking the blessing of 2000 odd gods & goddesses.
Controversial works of art and cinema are banned, writers are jailed…is this
the freedom of cultural expression we reguaranteed in our constitution? When did we become
the nation of intolerance? India wants answers, but only those which it
approves of.
Dr Ambedkar said “the roots of democracy are to be searched in
social relationship, in terms of the associated life between the people who
form the society. If a small section of the society is allowed to
manipulate the cultured symbols of the society that process becomes
undemocratic and destructive” The maker of our constitution envisioned a different India
than the one we reside in today. In this India, I may be persecuted
by kangaroo courts and moral crusaders just for having a different opinion or
believing in a different ideal. The majority’s constitutional freedoms take a
back seat when it comes to protecting sentiments of the few or sometimes the
lone individual taking it up on himself to represent his community.
This growing intolerance for
dissent has reached peak levels. A place where dissent of any form is not
tolerated is a dangerously stifling place to live in. We Indians pride
ourselves on being a colorfully diverse society that manages to co-exist. But this
co-existence should not come at the cost of shutting down ideas that differ
from the mainstream or challenge the status quo. The recent cases of Hindu outfits
opposing anything and everything that offends their ideas of Hinduism, is the
most glaring example of how these ‘protectors of Indian society’ are trying to
censor literature to their own liking. As a citizen of a free democratic
nation, I am being denied the discretionary right to choose what is right or
wrong for me. Someone else’s definition of moral is being thrust upon me and
with the state on their side; I am forced to accept it. Legislature, judiciary
and the executive are just machineries of the institution of democracy but its
spirit is to achieve a united people, not uniform people.
Innovation and creativity cannot
thrive within boundaries and rigid rules and as a developing nation, India
simply cannot afford to draw a dozen lines and expect its population to stand
behind it. The youth today are not as bothered about status quo as the people a
few years back. The new generation is growing up in a time where any offence is
directly displayed on the comment section of a webpage and the internet cannot
be controlled as easily as other media. Free speech and expression has created
the media revolution and it will define democracy in the days to come. It is believed
that the upcoming Lok Sabha Indian elections will show our democratic prowess
as a nation, but any country that has shunted its critics to oblivion isn’t a
true democracy in my book, nor was it in Ambedkar’s.
