Dissenters Are Not Tolerated In India
By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2021-03-04 07:59:02
About the Author
Amidst the growing intolerance against dissent in India comes the report from Freedom House, an American watchdog on democracy, which has downgraded India from being a "free" country to being "partly free". According to the score attributed to the 'health' of democracy in a country, India got 67 out of 100 in 2020 compared to 71 it had got in 2019. Freedom House has rightly said that authoritarianism was on the rise in India and the present government was intolerant towards dissent. It also said that there was a "pattern" in the way the government chose to move against those who differed with it on policy matters.
This reflects what we are seeing on the ground. Right from the days of the so-called "tukde tukde gang", the government moves swiftly and with all its might against those who differ with it. Be it the CAA protests, the Delhi riots or the farm agitation, the might of the state has always been deployed against dissenters. In this scenario, it is only the courts that have sometimes come to rescue harassed citizens. Increasingly, the courts (at all levels) are coming down upon the government by pointing out the wrong use of sedition laws and throwing out cases or granting bail in case of wrongful arrest.
The government has to recognize that differing with the government is not equal to differing with the nation. The government is there at the pleasure of the people. There always will be a huge body of dissenters. The more the government tries to suppress them, the more the body will grow. As a government that has been elected by the will of the people, it has to listen to the voice of the people, even if it is that of a minority. It may or may not agree with it and it may continue to carry out its policy decisions if they are passed by Parliament, but it has to give space to dissenters to voice their opinion without the fear of reprisal.
