What
is surprising is the fact that people who live in rural areas and have seen
poverty, caste system/caste discrimination and gender violence, have failed to
understand how these things work in day to day life, especially after they move
to an urban setup, get college education, and are trapped in upward
mobilization.
Someone
sent me a post on Facebook which reads as follows, “ONE DAY POOR WILL HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO EAT BUT THE RICH”. This statement is also in Hindi in a poster
withthe photos of Prime Minister Modi and Indian businessmen Ambani and TATA on
top and people on the floor with faded clothes below.
This
national election has seen BJP win with big margin; there is no individual
party which has the required strength to sit in opposition. According to me,
this win is not BJP's but this is the
election victory of Ambani, Adani and TATA. They win each election irrespective
of parties, their loyalty shifts immediately after the result so they win each
time.
People
in India are becoming rich and rich day by day and people in India becoming
poor and poor day by day. What is visible to us is the rich becoming richer.
What is also visible is the fact that few subsides are provided to the poor
farmer, few kilogramsof grain are given to dalits, tribals, and these continue
to be poor. What is not visible for most of us who live a middle class life and
aspire to acquire the status of rich (and who also eventually show our
frustration on the poor for eating our tax paid money) is that the interest
free loan and the uninterrupted water and electricity provided to the rich, the
kind of facility provided to the industry. So how do we respond to all these
things? What do we say to these half blinded middle class people who criticize
the poor for no rhyme or reason?
When
Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal was depicted in cartoons and
her policies criticized, some arrests were by the state government under the IT
Act. People are witnessing a similar
fate for posting their views against Mr. Modi. Of course, no one is making a
cartoon of Mr. Modi but the issues are more serious; there are many anti Anant
Murthi postings in the public domain for his remarks on Mr. Modi and these
continue. In case people like me express our views on the personal attacks on
people like Dr. Ananta Murthi and argue that they have a fundamental right
under Article 19(1) of the Constitution, we have been attacked and restrictions
under Article 19(2) invoked. So are we
saying that people who oppose the state and the police are outside the preview
of Article 19(1) of Constitution? Or are we saying that Article 19(1) is
limited to Mr.Modi/BJP supporter and not for others?
The
danger is political polarization and the absence of scope for a healthy debate.
If you say something you are being branded as Congerss party worker and the
stooge of Ms. Madam and her son. Does that mean that we have already accepted
the two party system in this country and that what is available is either you
are with us or with them? If earlier one ran the risk of being branded as a
leftist or nationalist, and then terrorist or nationalist, now one is either a
nationalist or a congress sympathizer. Is this what we have learnt from
history?
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