The 18th Lok Sabha elections scheduled to be held from April 19 to June 1 this year in seven phases have assumed historic importance in the past 73 years of the functioning of parliamentary democracy in India since the holding of the first Lok Sabha polls in 1951-52. The Narendra Modi government in the last ten years has eroded the basic ethos of the Indian constitution and has extended its authoritarianism to facilitate an opposition-mukt Lok Sabha polls.
Latest in the series are the arrest by the Enforcement Directorate of the government of the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in an old charge just two months before the Lok Sabha polls and the freezing of the bank accounts of the main opposition party the Congress by the Income Tax Department at a time when the Party is desperately struggling to organize finances for fighting elections against the ruling party BJP which is flush with huge funds.
Earlier Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly talked of Congress mukt Bharat. Now he is not openly talking about opposition mukt elections, but his government’s actions in the last five years have led to the withering away of the level playing field between the ruling party at the centre BJP and the parties opposed to it. There are warning signs of the emergence of a fascist state and the process will be accentuated if the BJP captures power at the centre for the third time in 2024 Lok Sabha elections. That way, the coming elections have posed a big challenge to the opposition INDIA bloc and all other forces in the society who are against authoritarianism and the erosion of democracy in India.
After the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the first time Trinamool Congress member Mahua Moitra in her address mentioned of seven warning signals of fascism which she read at the Holocaust Museum in USA. She mentioned of the initial signs of those warning signals in India under the second time rule of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Today, on the eve of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, five years after that address of Mahua Moitra, the signals are far more prominent indicating that the victory of the BJP led NDA for the third time will only accentuate that process. It can be the final stage of authoritarianism and unless effectively prevented, this may lead to the first stage of fascism during the third time rule of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The first warning signal mentioned in the Holocaust Museum poster was hyper nationalism which divides the country. Mahua mentioned in 2019 how the just passed CAA was creating terror among a section of the population. After five years, CAA provisions have been notified for implementation and there is a big possibility of a good section of minorities losing citizenship because of the lack of documents. In Bengal, one youth committed suicide as he was not finding the requisite papers. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sharma has announced new norms under which the minority people could live in his state. The entire move is to divide the nation, not to unite.
The second sign is the disdain for human rights. This was not very prominent in Atal Behari Vajpayee’s tenure as PM, but in the second term of Narendra Modi, the NGOs fighting the cause for human rights have been harassed in every possible manner, the human rights activists have been arrested and any dissent against the ruling party’s policies is being considered anti-national. The governance at the Centre is one dimensional with no scope for any differing views. The opposition opinions are being treated with disdain. It is like one opinion, one party, one government. Uttar Pradesh is a typical case where any torture of minorities can be continued by the fringe elements of the Sangh Parivar and little government action happens. The Muslims are treated as second class citizens by the state government itself.
The third early sign of fascism is the ruling party’s absolute control of mass media through its friendly business houses. Mahua mentioned the trends in her 2019 speech, but now, the national media, both print and TV are fully dominated by the groups friendly with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a quid pro quo basis. There is no way, the news reporting can remain independent. In the present digital information age, the laws have been amended to punish any news portal which will be opposing the present government.. Hardly, there is any space for opposition in the national media on the eve of the Lok Sabha polls.
The fourth sign is that there is an obsession with national security – identification of enemies. The NIA is a super giant agency now. The organization can raid any dissident and charge him for anti-national activities. The achievements of the army are being usurped in the name of the Prime Minister. Many retired army officials are worried at the centre’s bid to involve the army in the activities favourable to the ruling party. There is a tendency of the senior military officers hobnobbing with the ruling party before retirement. Recently, one just retired air force chief joined the BJP. He said that the last ten years of the Modi rule was the best for him professionally. This sort of involving retired military officers with the ruling party, is a dangerous trend.
The fifth sign is that the government and religion are now intertwined in this country Mahua just mentioned of the initial trend in her 2019 speech. But now, there is no veil. The linking of religion with the ruling government is complete. On January 22 this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi who represents the 140 crore people of the country representing all religions inaugurated the Ram Mandir which was a 100 per cent religious affair. Since then, the process is continuing. Senior BJP leaders are openly saying that once they win the Lok Sabha elections with good majority, the constitution will be amended to make India a Hindu Rashtra which is the final goal of Sangh Parivar.
The sixth sign is the complete disdain for intellectuals and the arts. There is a repression of all dissent, funding is being cut for liberal education, scientific temperament which is enshrined in Article 51 of the Constitution is discouraged. The school and college books are being revised on the lines of RSS inspired history. In scientific institutions, faith based histories are being encouraged as against science based on truth and evidence. The country is going back in the sphere of encouraging scientific temperament among the students.
The seventh and the last sign is the erosion of the role of the Electoral System, in India’s case the Election Commission. But this writer will mention an additional sign in India- Indian judiciary in lower courts.. Judges in the state courts at the lower level, are not functioning as per constitutional norms. They get influenced by the ruling party in many cases. The Supreme Court, as of now, is acting as the custodian of Indian constitution, but its impact is not visible on the functioning of many judges in lower courts. This acts against the very process of justice in the country.
The INDIA bloc and all those who care for the Indian constitution and the functioning of vibrant democracy in the country must build broadest unity at this hour to defeat the BJP and its allies in the Lok Sabha elections. There is no scope for dilly dallying. Any misstep or misjudgement on the part of the united opposition will seal the fate of vibrant democratic functioning in India. The June 4 results must ensure that democracy survives and authoritarianism gets a big jolt. (IPA Service)
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