India today appears to be more divided than it ever was. In the 80 years that I have been on this planet, with sixty years of my life spent in India, I can say with an amount of certainty that the vibrant democracy I had known in my younger days seems to be taking a flight from India. During those days the nation was not as polarized on religious and communal lines as it is today. I do not recall there ever was any widespread distrust or animosity on religious lines. But for the last couple of years, India appears to have witnessed a loss of trust between communities. In fact, there is an atmosphere of hatred which is created and promoted by Indian politicians, particularly those in power.
One can understand that politics is all about gaining power , exercising power and staying in power, but then it is expected that those in power will work for the welfare of the people, and surely injecting hatred in religious and social groups does not contribute to the welfare of the people.
Indeed, the policy of dividing the people in order to rule was once attributed to the British colonial rulers, and the British were condemned for practicing it. But now the same policy is being practiced more enthusiastically than the Britishers ever did. Looking at what is going on in India today, it’s not difficult to understand that India’s democracy is dysfunctional, with the government divesting people of their rights with each passing day. Democracy in India is getting fragile day by day. One shudders to think what may happen to India a few years from now. It is the sacred duty of the opposition parties in India to oppose the government’s attacks on democracy for the sake of the people who have put their faith in democracy and the people who they trust to protect their liberties and rights. The opposition parties which are so divided and weak need to come together and raise their voice against the slaughter of democratic values. If they fail in their duty now, history will not forgive them for their inaction. Let the opposition parties of India have only one aim – to safeguard the hard earned democracy against the attacks on it by the present government of India.