Opinion INDIA members write: Opposition rally is a clarion call for citizens to help save our democracy
BJP’s actions — splintering Opposition parties, arresting chief ministers — prove it doesn’t think this election is sealed. It can still be won by progressive forces, but to do so will need all of our combined efforts
Members of the Opposition's INDIA bloc gathered at the Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on Sunday for the ‘Loktantra Bachao’ rally. (Express Photo) Just like the adoption of India’s Constitution was a radical departure from the “graded inequalities of the past”, these past few months herald a dangerous departure from the constitutional and institutional norms underpinning our democracy. Weaponising the governing instruments of the state, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has engineered defections through coercion, splintered political parties, incarcerated two elected chief ministers (Hemant Soren and Arvind Kejriwal) and financially crippled the Indian National Congress (INC). Meanwhile, governors continue to sabotage the functioning of state governments while sections of the media and other state institutions seemingly collude to further the BJP’s interests. Any conscientious observer would conclude that this suffocating statism is not only creating an uneven playing field but undermining the core presuppositions of a functional democracy.
In doing so, the BJP is clearly trying to recreate the bogey of institutionalised political corruption that it used to great effect between 2011-2014. This will not work as effectively as before because of four reasons. Firstly, psychological alignments are already set in India. Those who could have been polarised by the BJP’s politics have already been in the last decade. Conversely, those who count themselves as liberal, secular or democratic (henceforth progressives) are stridently aligned with the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties. Secondly, by absorbing many who it once alleged were corrupt, the BJP has undermined its avowed anti-corruption crusade. Thirdly, given it has been in power for ten years, the nation knows that the BJP has had ample opportunities to act decisively against corruption. That it has not, and chooses to be performative on the eve of the general elections is glaringly evident. And finally, the electoral bonds scam has not only dented the sting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “na khaunga, na khaane dunga” but also raised serious questions about the government’s intentions in targeting the Opposition.
As things stand, the 2024 Lok Sabha elections are no longer being fought on a level playing field. It doesn’t take interventions from the United States of America and Germany, for V-Dem to classify India as an “electoral autocracy”, or for Freedom House to downgrade India from a free democracy to a “partially free democracy” to reach this conclusion. Yet, instead of being incensed at what’s happening, some have suggested a boycott of elections (like in Bangladesh). Others have expressed frustration with the INDIA parties for delays in seat-sharing, communicating a grand vision and overall political inertia. Yet others have taken to bemoaning the inevitability of what’s to come.
It is true that what’s happening today is unprecedented. The state is being partisan in the application of the rule of law, which is contingent on conformity to the ruling party. But we have all known this for the last decade. We have also known that many managing key levers of power have surrendered their very humanity, either for self-interest or fear or driven by some deep-rooted prejudice. And we have known that the BJP government has not adhered to the stated and unstated conventions of parliamentary democracy. This is because it has never seen the Opposition, which represents nearly 60 per cent of India, as partners in nation-building. Given this, why do we progressives still expect any quarter or hope for constitutional proprieties from the BJP? And, equally importantly, why do we still keep outsourcing the onus of this historic battle for the constitutional idea of India to political parties alone?
The INDIA parties are doing their best, with the limited resources they have. On one hand, Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatras forced a constructive organisational restructuring and programmatic recalibration within INC. Similarly, Uddhav Thackeray’s and Tejashwi Yadav’s mass-contact programmes are yielding results. Yes, the INDIA parties can and must do more to remedy structural problems (both within and without). But they need our help today because of the unprecedented situation we find ourselves in. In that spirit, the Loktantra Bachao (Save Democracy) Rally at Ramlila Maidan on March 31 is not just a protest against the BJP government’s many villainies. It is a clarion call for all conscientious Indians to stand up to defend India’s soul.
Therefore, instead of pushing our own pet agendas on political parties or frittering away time in finger-pointing, progressives would be better placed in re-channelising energies in tangibly supporting INDIA. Because the goalposts of politics have changed drastically, all progressives — whether in civil society, corporate India, the diaspora, community stakeholders, filmmakers, socio-cultural organisations, the bureaucracy, the media, etc., must step up. Each is an equal stakeholder in the business of nation-building and must therefore share the responsibility of reclaiming and rebuilding India.
Like in 1930 and 1942, today the entire apparatus of the state is levelled against the Opposition. Yet, similar restrictions spurred innovations during the freedom movement, like the Congress Radio (so evocatively portrayed in the recent film Ae Watan Mere Watan). Or when Indira Gandhi organised vanar senas of young children to ferry messages and pamphlets. Taking a leaf out of those efforts, progressives can spearhead a plethora of initiatives. It could be as low key as organising groups within Resident Welfare Associations to circulate newspaper clippings that speak truth to power. Similarly, filmmakers can insert liberal, secular and democratic values in films and serials. Civil society can mobilise activists for door-to-door campaigning at the block level. The diaspora can rally to support progressive causes in India in diverse ways. Furthermore, social organisations can engage with temple trusts, societies, akharas/maths etc., many of whom are with the BJP.
The INDIA parties are doing what they can at every level. What they need today (and tomorrow) is an army of evangelicals, who will work consistently and away from the media glare. This is because the BJP is better placed, given its disproportionate access to resources and chokehold on the media, at generating a hawa/mahaul (a narrative wave). This will go a long way in swaying the silent majority in India.
It is imperative to understand that the BJP’s actions prove it doesn’t think this election is sealed. Despite weaponising the media and social media, despite banking heavily on performative religiosity, and despite a massive war chest acquired from questionable deals, the BJP still feels the need to resort to underhand tactics to gerrymander the election. This election is neck-to-neck and can be won. But it will take all of our combined efforts to do so. There are some sunshine patriots who will shrink in this crisis. But those patriots who genuinely want to do something meaningful can no longer be concerned about the comforts of their daily routines, or be sanguine about the status quo. This is a watershed moment. The panchajanya (the conch that Lord Krishna blew to announce the Kurukshetra war) for the battle for India’s soul has been blown. The only question facing you today is this — will you stand up when it matters?
Deshpande is the author of Bharat Jodo Yatra and Director of the Samruddha Bharat Foundation, which works with progressive forces on ideological and policy matters. Sappal is the Permanent Invitee, Congress Working Committee & Member of the INDIA parties Campaign Committee
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