Will fear of the State now ebb?
Updated On: 10 June, 2024 06:49 AM IST | Mumbai | Ajaz Ashraf
It is unrealistic to think BJP’s coalition partners will strive to reverse the democratic slide witnessed over the last decade. Will the judiciary protect citizens from the executive’s wrath?
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi with TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar during the NDA parliamentary party meeting at Samvidhan Sadan, in New Delhi, on June 7. Pic/PTI
The Bharatiya Janata Party’s failure to win a majority on its own in the Lok Sabha has engendered hopes that our public life will now be normalised and the democratic slide reversed. There are already encouraging signs of it: no longer do we hear of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s magical winning touch. No longer is he seen alone in media visuals; he now shares the photo-frame with N Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar, the two leaders on whom his political longevity depends. No longer is Rahul Gandhi a mere media footnote. Add to this the frisson over stories on the demands of the ruling National Democratic Alliance’s constituents.
All these elements alone do not assure a reversal of the democratic slide. A defining aspect of this slide has been the society’s fear of the State’s coercive powers, unabashedly exercised over the last 10 years. It muted dissent and shrank the rights of citizens. Our political life cannot rediscover its vigour unless the people’s fear of the State ebbs.
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