Democracy or DemocKracy

While watching an Election campaign in the ongoing ARY TV (Pakistan) series Jaan-e-Jahaan, I unsurprisingly felt it resembled electioneering in India, even if fictional. I also recalled ‘Aap tho hum Jaise hi Nikale’ (You Also Turned Like Us), written by Pakistani reknowned poetess Fehmida Riaz. Certainly, Pakistan, India and many of our South Asian neighbours, have more commonalities than the terrain, cuisine, language, sports, weather, race, (mis)governance structures et al. The last is more pertinent now, considering Pakistan had its elections in February 2024. And, as I write this, the unnecessarily and maybe, forcefully, prolonged ‘General’ Elections in India (where I am from and based), the world’s largest Democracy or DemocKracy (according to me, sadly), are progressing.

Election Commission or Co-omission?
I dare suggest that the 2024 Parliamentary election schedule in India is illogical and unjustified, as a prolonged one supposedly favours parties with maximum resources. As stipulated, the Election Commission of India (ECI) must frame the election schedule, perform relevant procedures and implement pertinent laws and rules. This must be independent of the incumbent government and any individuals or groups (politicians and political parties, particularly) except from those officially designated with election responsibilities. In fact, the outspoken and redoubtable late T. N. Seshan, India’s first Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), was once introduced as the CEC of the Government of India (GoI). He promptly quipped, ‘I am the CEC of India, not the GoI’. Importantly, the ECI is a constitutional and autonomous body.

Outrageously, yet unsurprisingly, the current ECI, headed by the CEC with assistance from two Election Commissioners, seems under duress from the incumbent union government formed by the BJP in 2019. Otherwise, why would an election commissioner resign just before the elections were announced and why is the ECI not implementing the moral code of conduct (MCC) even after receiving multiple complaints about hate speech primarily by the incumbent Prime Minister and other BJP candidates? Incidentally, the MCC is effective immediately after the election announcement. Actually, the ECI must take suo motu cognisance of and respond proactively to remarks by any politician or candidate, offending any religion, gender, caste, race, ethnicity, language, region, disability, or other socio-cultural identities.

Hearteningly, initiatives like Eddelu Karnataka and counterparts, Reclaim Constitution, Hate Detector, Bahutva Karnataka, Grow a Spine or Resign, Think Tank Telangana and organisations/networks like the Women against Sexual Violence and State Repression (WSS), People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR), Law and Policy Research Institute (LAPRI), Act Now for Harmony and Democracy (ANHAD) and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have been observing/monitoring elections and/or countering harmful socio-economic and political misdeeds and misinformation. These are coalitions of individuals and/or groups who launched, disseminated or signed such letters, or published these reports. During the 2024 or earlier elections, they have tirelessly and proactively complained to the ECI against MCC violations. However, the current ECI has responded extremely tardily and unsatisfactorily.

The fascist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP or Indian People’s Party), initially formed the Union government in 2014 and has unfortunately been (mis)governing many ‘cow belt’ or ‘Hindi/Hindutva heartland’ states for minimum 5 years. These are in northern and western India, dominated by ‘gau rakshaks’ (Cow Protectors) essentially, misled zealots, wanting to make India a Hindu Rashtra (Hindu State). Unlike its name, the BJP represents the interests only of its sycophants or ‘bhakts’ (devotees), wields immense power and punishes dissent and criticism.

Dalits and Muslims have borne the brunt of the BJP’s misdeeds, by being lynched or imprisoned through falsified complaints under draconian legislations like the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) or Section 124A (Sedition) of India, Indian Penal Code 1860. But, shamefully, rapists are unpunished or released. Further, amidst brave resistance, the state facilitates land+coast+forest grab and denies transpersons, Adivasis (indigenous persons), informal workers and other marginalised groups their rights and entitlements as visible from the two COVID-19 lockdowns and the year-long violence in Manipur, a north-east Indian state. Further, from 2014 onwards, our democratic institutions like the ‘mainstream’ media and the judiciary, seem severely weakened and not autonomous.

Democracy and India’s Constitution
Democracy, rooted in Greek: ‘demos’ (mob/people) and ‘cratos’ (rule/governance) is among independent India’s foundational aspects embedded in the Preamble of the Constitution of India in 1949. Actually, a democracy anywhere is and must be of by and for the People – whatever their caste, class, SOGIESC, religion/faith, community, disability/health, ideology/belief, race, ethnicity, language, region/geography, occupation/profession, relationship status, age and all other socio-cultural, economic, biological identities or attributes, even if not stated explicitly. So, after voting on April-26-2024, I posted on Instagram: ‘this is an election to the House of the People in all our Diversity. We will do our utmost to ensure that India continues being a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular Democratic Republic as stated in the Preamble to our just and egalitarian Constitution’. Crucially, ‘Secular’ was added to the Preamble through an Amendment in the 1970s.

In an Insta Live ‘Queering Conversations – Caste, Constitution and Queers’, I co-hosted on May-1-2024, Deepti Sirla, a Dalit and Queer feminist from Telangana (a south-western Indian state) highlighted: ‘Indians must understand and practice Constitutional morality, not be moralistic’. While discussing our egalitarian Constitution, we recalled that Babasaheb Dr. B R Ambedkar (India’s first Law and Justice Minister and Chairperson of the very diverse Constituent Assembly) experienced terrible caste discrimination and struggled immensely while studying for his multiple degrees in India and abroad. Deepti observed that Babasaheb ensured that equity and equality are enshrined in the constitution from the Preamble to the Fundamental Rights and Duties. She added, ‘The Constitution may have differed if someone privileged architected it’. Babasaheb was a forthright, trailblazing, determined, and courageous visionary, who championed India’s marginalised.

Whither Indian Democ(K)racy?
I have a right and responsibility as a writer and Indian citizen in India (for most of their 50 years), to question if the polling schedule is justified. In a democracy, anyone must be able to say ‘unjust’ without any apprehensions or repercussions. In fact, I can raise questions on or critique anything in the public domain, by any politician, state government or GoI, through open letters, opinion pieces like this one or social media posts, seek information through applications under the now diluted Right to Information (RTI) Act 2005 and file Public Interest Litigations (PIL’s) in any of the High Courts or the Supreme Court of India.

Although freedom of expression is a fundamental right, it must not hurt or harm anyone. Of course, any expression might hurt someone and may not easily heal. Further, rights and freedoms are never absolute and have benefits, amidst challenges. However, as rights and freedoms are among Democracy’s basic tenets, one can resist any state curtailing freedoms and rights of its citizens. As the overt opposition to lynching and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019, National Population Register (NPR) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) especially in early 2020, before we got ‘locked down’ by COVID-19, citizenship criteria in India are becoming discriminatory and therefore unjust and unacceptable.

India’s democracy and secularism were threatened during the Partition, Emergency, anti-Sikh riots, Babri Masjid demolition and Mumbai riots, state excesses in West Bengal, Andhra/Telangana, Kashmir, Manipur and Chattisgarh and many more unjust incidents nationwide and the Indian Peace Keeping Force’s (IPKF) violence towards Sri Lankan Tamils. Yet, the current dispensation is more brazen, widespread and mounting. Consequently, I sound sarcastic and cynical while actually hoping and doing whatever possible to ensure that India remains a Democracy instead of becoming a DemocKracy or Democrazy or any other unpalatable version of the term.

The writer is gender fluid, LGBTQIAP+ peer counsellor, co-founder RANG Collective. Enjoys camera tricks and penning verse.