The day of joyous celebration was missing the usual upbeat mood this year. It was not only the coronavirus that had dampened the spirits and cast a pall of gloom.
The worldwide lockdown has disrupted economic activity everywhere—jobs have been lost and uncertainty about the future persists.
What has made India’s situation more precarious is the Chinese betrayal and the clash in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh that resulted in tragic loss of lives and has diverted India’s attention from the war against the virus to the grave threat posed by a treacherous neighbour.
It must be said to the credit of the government that it didn’t lose much time to regain its nerve after the stunning blow.
The nation was reassured that no intruder would be allowed to retain an inch of Indian territory. Massive increase in deployment of troops, tanks, armoured vehicles, missiles and fighter planes was undertaken on war footing to convey to the adversary that India was no pushover—it can and will push back.
Unfortunately, neither the talks between top-level commanders on ground nor the several round of negotiations between diplomats have yielded the desired results.
China continues to play hard ball. It has not withdrawn enough to restore status quo before the hostilities.
The dragon continues to blow out toxic fumes and hiss warnings. It is easy to unite the nation against an external threat.
The real challenge is to display unshakable resolve to defeat the enemies lurking within and to strive together to build the nation. This is a task that never ends.
Freedom from foreign rule was just a part of the struggle for Independence. Equally important components were to ensure freedom from hunger, disease, illiteracy and fear. The last is the most difficult to grasp.
Fear arising from overt and covert threats of violence due to caste and communal prejudice, and feudal exploitation. Freedom from superstition is the part of the same package. Give it any name—social justice, inclusive development, equality before law—this is what the Preamble of our Constitution proclaims and the Fundamental Rights guarantee.
As the Prime Minister climbed the ramparts of historic Red Fort, 1.38 billion Indians waited what his message would be at this exceptionally stressful moment.
He keeps sharing his thoughts in Mann ki Baat regularly and also has been addressing the nation through special momentous announcements.
Most were wondering if he was going to spring any surprises like notebandi and lockdown. He spoke at length covering a wide range of subjects but the compatriots were spared dramatic ‘shock and awe’.
The shock had been administered on the eve of the Independence Day by the Supreme Court judgment on the contempt case against Prashant Bhushan.
Finding the senior lawyer guilty has raised many questions about the reality of Fundamental Rights in contemporary India.
This case has triggered a much-needed debate about the continuance of the archaic law pertaining to contempt of court (like the colonial-era sedition laws) in India almost 75 years after Independence. When the sword of contempt hangs over our head, how can one dare open one’s mouth or take up the pen to make fair comment or criticise even if such observations are based on incontrovertible facts?
The space has certainly shrunk to differ and dissent. The majesty of law may have been maintained in this case but respect earned coercively can’t be equal to respect earned through deeds. Blurring the distinction between the institution and individual can only lead to consequences detrimental to both.
This, however, is not the only ‘development’ that has caused apprehensions regarding erosion of freedoms inseparable from the spirit of Independence.
The two national parties, the Congress and the BJP, treated the nation to a most undignified spectacle of ‘horse trading’ with fluctuating fortunes to retain or snatch away the state of Rajasthan from the ‘rival’.
Once again the net result was to drag down the reputation of constitutional authorities and courts. One can only lament that no political party is free from blame in this dirty and dangerous game.
Anti-defection law survives as a tatter that can’t even serve as a fig leaf. How does one whip up good cheer to sing songs celebrating the birth of the nation when the sky is so dull and grey?
We never tire of talking of Unity in Diversity that is a unique feature of our inheritance. It is becoming increasingly difficult to decide if the extraordinary emphasis on homogenised Unity is not dividing the country destroying the Diversity that is the bedrock on which it rests.
From laying foundation of a grand Ram Temple to the New Education Policy 2020, the rush to accomplish everything in the election manifesto seems to engender simmering resentment.
The anti-Hindi backlash in Tamil Nadu is just one example of this and the unravelling of the Naga Accord another.
There are other contentious issues that can only be resolved with consensus. But can that be arrived at where free speech is stifled and mind numbed with fear?
pushpeshpant@gmail.com
Former professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University