The reality of an India at the crossroads

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The reality of an India at the crossroads

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Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment

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• India – a gamut of issues: India today resembles a war zone, with little effort being made by the government to build consensus on key issues. Going by the present conditions, immediate future does not look promising.
• Fragility of Indian democracy: World press is now getting critical of organs of the Indian state, and the criminal justice system, making the most devout believers of Indian democracy apprehensive. Beyond a stage, it’s not advisable to ignore the screaming signals.
• On Economy: From a fast-growing to a fast-shrinking one, the fall has been quick.

1. India is one of the worst performing major economies as on date
2. The Indian rupee (INR) has depreciated while Euro, Australian & Canadian Dollars,  South Korean Won & Swiss Franc have become stronger
3.  India is in the midst of a recession
4. It is also one of the most vulnerable to ransomware and is turning increasingly  protectionist, with rather poor logic being offered for it.

• External affairs: This largely  looks depressing due to many factors.

1. India-China LAC dispute in a deadlock, despite multiple rounds of talks
2. Indo-Pak ties are at a historic low with China signing the Military Memorandum of Understanding with Pakistan
3. India’s limitations in balancing ties with conflicting partners such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE & Egypt on one side & Turkey, Qatar & Iran on the other
4. The above is in spite of the fact that the relations with UAE & Saudi Arabia are robust and growing.

• Signs of rigid policies: The democratic credentials are being questioned domestically, and abroad.

1. Achievements – Reduction in the number of terror attacks, incidents of Maoist violence, improvement in the situation in the North-East
2. Yet, people are questioning if India has lost its democratic face for a more rigid set of policies
3. This became apparent with dilution of Article 370 followed by incarceration of J&K political leaders, handling of the anti-CAA agitation, and guided       attempts to set up democracy through elections to the DDC in the UT of J&K. The opposition is labelled as ‘unholy’ and ‘anti-national’!

• Electoral wins at any cost: The ruling regime is turning each election into a war, not to be lost at any cost.

1. Elections to all tiers of the government are turning into communal, political flashpoints where winning is the only goal
2. No state is free from  aggressive electioneering although WB & UP feature predominantly in the media
3. Elections have become grounds to pitch the minority against the majority & creating an atmosphere of polarisation  as seen in the Greater       Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections

• Strain on other aspects of democracy: This constant polarization is now pulling democracy itself apart.

1. Freedom of an individual, constitutional principles, and principles of natural justice – all are under stress
2. Legal measures against ‘love-jihad’, ill-treatment of political prisoners,  and labeling dissenters as urban naxals – all mark a sharp decline from past

• Social media clampdown: Under the label of fighting fake news, states such as Kerala framed draconian laws to clamp down on social media. This was withdrawn but there are states considering to have such a law.
• Farmers’ protest: The farmers’ protest against the new Farm Laws and the subsequent siege of the national capital has become controversial. But the farmers’ right to protest has been supported from abroad, by the Canadian PM, 36 British MPs, the UN and even the Indian diaspora.
• Summary: With protests all over and a host of issues surrounding Indians, it seems govt. is not paying attention to people’s demands and protests -  styling itself on the lines of a dictatorship.

Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment

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