Present undeclared emergency worse than emergency
It has been 45 years since Indira Gandhi imposed emergency in India. From June 1975 to March 1977, for nearly two years, democracy was suspended in the country. We need to remember those tumultuous days every year to make sure that the country’s Constitution and democracy are not subjected to the same treatment again. Those two years taught us precious lessons on what happens when a leader is worshipped at the altar, and how such a leader can trample the Constitution and become a dictator. We should also remember all the tall leaders who protested against the emergency and who were responsible for reinstating democracy in the country. On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, urging the country “to not forget those people who sacrificed their lives to protect democracy.” He also added in his statement: “The opposition against the emergency was not limited to the political class. It upset everyone. People were filled with rage and fought to bring back democracy. Every citizen felt something precious was taken away from him.” There cannot be any dispute over this. All conscientious citizens had opposed the emergency keeping aside party affiliations. Their struggles made sure that democracy that had derailed got back on track.
In the dark days of emergency, intellectuals, political thinkers, and writers were targeted and hounded. A situation was created where those who questioned the government’s decision were thrown behind bars, as any criticism of the government or its policies were considered an act of treason. Journalists who wrote against the government were also jailed. Ironically, the current situation of the country is no different. In fact, it is worse than that. But for the fact that India now has a democratically elected government in place, the country is facing an undeclared emergency and is being suffocated on all fronts. If Sanjay Gandhi’s dictatorial ways and atrocities gained notoriety during Indira Gandhi’s emergency, today we have leaders such as ‘Amit Shah’ who are trying hard to fill Sanjay Gandhi’s shoes. The acts of Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh and Kapil Mishra in Delhi remind us of emergency.
In those days of emergency, the economic life of the ordinary people was not in shambles. Instead, using the emergency, some leaders successfully implemented the Land Reforms Act which essentially involved taking away land from landlords and distributing it to the landless. When D. Devraj Urs was the Chief Minister of Karnataka, hundreds of farmers of Billava community, who were living in penury and as tenants in Mangaluru, became landowners. If Indira Gandhi had not implemented the Act ruthlessly, many backward class people would have remained tenants of the upper caste landlords. But in the 2020-undeclared emergency, several laws are being enacted to grab land from farmers and hand it over to capitalist forces. If Indira Gandhi had embarked on several revolutionary measures such as nationalizing banks, today’s government seems to be in a hurry to destroy banks and privatize them.
The decision to demonetize high value currency notes is no less significant compared to an imposition of financial emergency. Perhaps even during emergency, people were not forced to stand in queues before banks to withdraw the money that belonged to them. Even after the passage of few years, people have not yet recovered from the impact of demonetization. The financial emergency situation that people were in further deteriorated with the imposition of Covid-19 lockdown. An Act that curbs the sale of cattle by farmers was also enacted during the present undeclared emergency. Farmers, who were in distress after the demonetization, faced additional distress without being able to sell their cattle in duress. The Act was also responsible for the collapse of the animal husbandry sector. The regulations on cattle-trade helped fake cow-protectors and a few Mutts to make money in the name of cow protection. The farmers who are the real protectors of the cow were virtually on the streets.
During Indira Gandhi’s emergency, nobody asked fellow citizens to prove their citizenship. But today people are being repeatedly asked to do so. In Assam, lakhs of people who were not able to prove their citizenship were thrown into detention camps with many of them dying due to lack of food and water. Through Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), an attempt was made to divide the country into Muslims and non-Muslims. The Home Minister ignited sparks of communal hatred through the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Hundreds of students who were protesting against CAA faced jail term and many of them were killed in police firing. The plight of students was not so pathetic during Indira Gandhi’s emergency.
Thinkers, writers, and social workers who have raised their voice against the present government are being branded as ‘anti-nationals’ and are thrown into jail. Hundreds of Dalit activists including Anand Teltumbe and former police officers such as Sanjiv Bhatt are in jail for protesting against the anti-Dalit policy of the government. While a terrorist who has alleged links to the attack on Parliament gets bail, activists who are fighting for the country’s democracy are yet to get bail. With newspapers becoming government trumpets, those in the media who are exposing the scandals of the government are being harassed by the administration by misusing investigating agencies.
Even as the country was going through a series of challenges one after another, a nation-wide lockdown was imposed in the name of fighting the coronavirus. Laborers who pledged their sweat and blood for the country’s development found themselves on the street without food, water, and housing and experienced living hell unable to survive in cities or go back home. They became aliens in their own land. Indira Gandhi had declared an emergency officially. But now, emergency is prevailing in the country under the garb of democracy and the voices of those who are speaking in favor of democracy are being ruthlessly suppressed. During the emergency of Indira Gandhi, leaders with rich experience of participating in the freedom struggle came together to launch a united fight following which democracy was reinstated. But today, the country is facing a dearth of such leaders. If we do not recognize the gravity of the present emergency situation being played out as democracy and raise our voices, the country might be subjected to an official emergency soon. Before being thrown from the frying pan into the fire, the bitter memories of the 1975 emergency period should serve as a wakeup call to come together and face the horrors of the present situation.
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Modi should leverage his ties with world leaders to de-escalate war in West Asia: Omar Abdullah
Jammu (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said India can play a meaningful role in de-escalation in West Asia, given Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strong relations with the warring countries and their neighbours.
He said Pakistan was leveraging ties with Iran and the United States, and that any effort towards ending the war should be welcomed.
"As I said in the House (Assembly), we would like the war to end as soon as possible. The role that the prime minister can play may not be possible for anyone else because of his good relations with all these countries," Abdullah told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
He, however, said any escalation would not be easy to manage.
"Any such move by US President Donald Trump, despite the long history of Iran resisting external domination, would not be easy," the chief minister said.
Asked about Pakistan mediating in the war, he said, "I will simply say that if any country can play a role in preventing this war, no one should have any objection to it."
He added, "I will repeat what I said … our prime minister has good and close relations with all countries — whether it is Israel, the United States, Iran, or the countries around Iran. If those relationships can be used to make some progress and help ease the situation, it would be a good thing."
Abdullah said attacks by terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed in India, as suggested by a report from the United States, are not unlikely.
Meanwhile, he asserted that any efforts to end the war, be it from Pakistan, must not be resisted.
"Pakistan is using its good relations with Iran and the United States to its advantage, and it has done so. How can we object to that? If that angle helps in stopping the war, would you want them not to act and let the war continue? We want the war to stop. If any country can play a role in that, it should. And if we can play an even better role, then we should do so," he said.
On unemployment in J-K, the chief minister said the issue cannot be resolved overnight, and government jobs alone are not the solution.
He stressed the need to explore alternative avenues, highlighting the importance of Mission Yuva in promoting entrepreneurship.
"Mission Yuva provides not just funding but also support in preparing DPRs and post-startup assistance, such as marketing. In just nine months, distributing Rs 1,000 crore and approving numerous schemes is a significant achievement," he said.
Abdullah credited the coordination between the government and Jammu and Kashmir Bank for the scheme's progress.
