10 June,2011 06:54 AM IST | | Arindam Chaudhuri
The modern day Jalianwala Bagh at Ramlila Grounds shows the demonic attitude of the government, the weak spine of the Opposition and the hypocrisy of the media towards Bharat!
My question is, are we living in a democracy or in a shamelessly unapologetic dictatorial regime? What happened on June 4, 2011, is an absolute blot on the Indian democracy. There is absolutely no exaggeration when people compare the incidents of the day to the Jalianwala Bagh Massacre.u00a0
Baba Ramdev has mostly raised very, very pertinent issues of national concern. The man is perhaps the only mass leader of the nation with a nationwide followership and someone whose remedies have benefited millions of Indians for real. There have also been murmurs about RSS' growing proximity with the Baba in the wake of its dissatisfaction with the BJP. Naturally, the government had reasons to be scared. Mighty scared; especially with the civil societies around the world in a mood for uprisings. So, to crush the mass movement that he was creating, they did what was unthinkable in Indian democracy, and that too in the capital of the country. The government actions are now a clear indication that this government has turned demonic and is losing legitimacy to run the country with every passing day.
The incident also proves how spineless the opposition parties, especially the BJP, has become. It is time that BJP leaders stop the infighting and show the government its place. Had they seized this or the countless other opportunities this government has been providing systematically, they would have been assured of a return to power. Not that it won't happen, but it looks now that if such a return to power happens, it wouldn't be so much because of the BJP but more despite the BJP.
It is sad and shameful that the Supreme Court of India, instead of giving a 24 hour notice to the government to explain its actions against Baba Ramdev, and taking a stern action thereafter, gave a shocking 14 day notice to the government to file a reply on the happenings. They had this audacity because the people who were there with Baba Ramdev represented the hapless and poorer sections of the country. Finally, I just want to say that we live in a country that is proud ufffd and often criticised ufffd- to have inherited its Constitution, laws and democratic framework from the British; yet, it's astonishing that one of the greatest virtues of the British democracy is missing!
In New Delhi today, if one wants to protest, he is being denied a place! This is unbelievable! In the land of Gandhi, people who want to protest peacefully are being thrashed mercilessly and made tadipaars! This is not the democracy that Gandhi dreamt of. In simple words, it is the shameful and unapologetic dictatorship of the sycophants. And it must end.
