Editorial

Democracy has finally triumphed

Opinion | Editorial | John S. Shilshi | 06-Jun-2024

The Parliamentary Elections 2024 have been one hell of an epic exercise, not because they were conducted in a country known as the world’s largest democracy, but simply because of the manner in which the entire exercise was carried out. Between the first days of the election and the final announcement of the result, the process went through three calendar months—April, May, and June—the longest ever, even for the magnitude of India’s electorate. It took place at that time of the year when the climatic conditions in most states were extreme, hence paying a heavy price in the form of unfortunate deaths to at least 40 polling officials—more than half of them from the northern parts of India. What a march to the dawn of a new political culture!

In the last ten years that the Bhartiya Janata Party was in power, the country experienced less of democratic culture and more dictatorial regime, which, many who dared to speak out say, was similar to throttled cultures in countries like China, North Korea, or Putin’s Russia. The voiceless majority, however, simply endured the painful experiences of denial, which this great country has never seen in its last 77 years of existence as an independent nation. Democratic institutions such as the judiciary, the Election Commission of India, the press, the investigating agencies, bureaucracy, police, and almost every government organ of delivery were silenced, either through intimidation or by incentivizing willful complicity in the grand and systematic machination of the fascist agenda. But for some degree of freedom that the social media platforms provided, the mainstream media became the mouthpiece of the ruling party, which preferred to ask comfortable questions rather than pose uncomfortable ones that people at the helm of affairs were duty-bound to answer. 

On the social front, the policy to divide people based on their religion surpassed even the design of the British regime. Hate speeches against minorities were also incentivized by dolling out key positions in the party to people who dared to be vocal. So much so that in a Dharam Sansad held in Haridwar from December 17–19, 2021, an open call was made for genocide against the Muslim community, with so-called objective of protecting the Hindus. Despicable though it was, neither the Prime Minister nor the Home Minister, a father-figure to all citizens and custodian of peace and harmony respectively, did not say anything about it.  They also chose to maintain selective silence when churches were attacked in different parts of India. Emboldened by these attitudes, RSS-affiliated organizations in the North East region too began to target the Christian community, while there were also instances of these outfits encouraging intra-tribal conflicts in some parts of the region.

On June 4, however, when the results of the parliamentary elections were announced, the country finally rediscovered the lost ground, though partially. The call for notching up 400+ seats by the BJP was beaten hollow, in fact, as early as the first and second phases of the electoral exercise. Hindu voters refused to be hoodwinked by such narratives, and ensured that issues like safeguarding the Constitution, ensuring social harmony, unemployment, inflation, and poverty-related issues were prioritized ahead of sectarian agenda of the Mandir, Masjid, Gurudwara, Church, etc. that the BJP was harping on. Most importantly, they dented the BJP stranglehold in the Hindi heartland. They made sure that the man who called for changing the constitution of India was defeated in the constituency of Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh, where the Ram Mandir stands. In the same vein, Hindu brothers and sisters voted out the BJP candidate in Banswara, Rajsthan, where the Prime Minister used most deplorable terms like infiltrators, communities with more children, etc. to describe the Muslim community while campaigning for the BJP candidate. We salute all of them!

The most befitting phrase to perhaps describe the outcome of this election is, “While the Modi-led NDA won power, the INDIA alliance won hearts." Also, though numerically the BJP might have pocketed more seats than their opponents, it indeed is a defeat for them because, despite the superior ecosystem under their belt— A Reluctant Election Commission of India, entire media channels and newspaper playing the role of BJP spokesmen, unlimited funds, a media cell 100 times superior, active and widespread, and also the government machinery—to have been downsized to the number that they finally stood is nothing less than a huge and humiliating defeat.

Mr Modi has so far enjoyed the unique distinction of ruling Gujarat and the country with unassailable mandates. This will be the first time that he will have to consult and accommodate his coalition partners on issues of national interest. The million dollar question therefore is, will the dictator in him be able to adjust to this change?  Also, unlike in the 2014 and 2019 Parliaments, the opposition bench would no longer be scanty and fewer in voices where treasury bench could bulldoze legislations without debates. Most importantly, will the NDA partners agree to continuing the Modi-Shah combination? Time will only tell us the answers to all these speculations. But for now, democracy has finally triumphed, and the country is rolling back on the path of a normal political trajectory.

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