It was alarming to read a news item that the world's largest democracy India, has plummeted ten places to 51st position in Global Democracy Index 2019.  The white paper released by The Economic Intelligence Unit lucidly points out that the credit for this ignominy goes to our iron-fisted policies of the party in power, like NRC, J&K, Internet clampdowns, CAA, etc. This index is the barometer to how the international community is looking at us in this scenario. The news item has also pointed out that if things continue to worsen in this manner, India will find itself on the brink of getting demoted into an authoritarian state. The last time Indian democracy faced an existential threat was during the Emergency. Unfortunately, we are repeating history.

We should follow Norway, which is one of the most secular and democratic countries of the world, instead of paying undue attention to Pakistan. Some countries that were above our country's index have slipped to 51st position, with a score of 6.90 out Of 10. We must try to beat the champions Norway (score 9.87) instead of slowly moving towards Pakistan( score 4.25).

A vibrant democracy and secular ideals also helped Norway achieve the top rank in the 2019 Human Development Index. India should try to emulate Norway and improve our 129th rank in HDI instead of being obsessed with Pakistan that got 152nd rank.

It is a matter of grave concern that India's downward trend continues even with the World Press Freedom Index, where it dropped from 133rd rank in 2016 to 140 in 2019. Alarmingly we are inching closer to 150th ranked Pakistan. We must reverse this trend and have a healthy competition with numero-uno Norway. 

 Read an article titled “a plural legacy more vital than ever” it makes it clear that Jawaharlal Nehru was seen by Mahatma Gandhi as the man with the ability to scan wider horizons and carry forward his message of unity in diversity. In Gandhiji's mind, Nehru was the quintessential democrat, accommodative of dissent, free from racial prejudices and religious bigotry, and completely committed to secular principles. Besides he was an undisputed man of masses in 1947, therefore a natural choice to be the first PM of India. The misconception propagated by vested interests, that Nehru in his ambition to become PM, divided India, is a grotesque misrepresentation and travesty of fact. No PM after Nehru has enjoyed the international stature and acceptability Nehru did in the 1950s: so it’s just an illusion to think that respect for India in the rest of the world has gone up in the last few years. 

Now of course the present leadership is successful in trying to erase all good done earlier and also in erasing its current failures too. Otherwise who remembers that Demonetisation was a blunder, the consequences of which are still plaguing us? Who recalls the spectacle of 450 million people, rendered jobless overnight, walking from big cities to their native hinterlands where only misery awaited them? That migration of March -April 2020, will remain etched in the collective memory of India for generations to come. While it is a fact that some decisions hurt the country so badly and are remembered for long even if they are not discussed in public. One such decision was to scrap the original agreement with France for the purchase of Rafale fighter jets. A new agreement was signed to buy fewer Rafales at three times the originally agreed price. India lost heavily for the sake of benefiting a private party who appeared on the scene with no previous experience.  

Ever since the present dispensation came to power we have been witnessing complete vilification, demonetisation, and obfuscation, of many of their adversaries and all the leaders of anti-colonial struggles, particularly Jawaharlal Nehru.

After all, we live in times when Nehru’s contribution to the modern Indian society is often questioned and derided. The removal of Nehru’s name from state-sponsored history textbooks is the culmination of a motivated smear campaign. Nehru is blamed for the partition in their election campaigns, and parliament, evoking cheers from his MPs. This needless desk thumping and slandering of previous governments only strengthens the perception that BJP lives in the past and uses and misuses it to coverup its follies and disastrous decisions like demonetisation and badly implemented GST.

Right-wing influencers and trolls alike present alternative facts and accusations that present, Nehru as a westernised degenerate, who embodied the opposite of what an ideal Indian should be. But this sort of vilification is to be expected from those with majoritarian tendencies. Trying to erase Nehru’s imprint on the country is a tall order because he is part of modern India’s DNA. Throw Nehru out of the equation and you end up undermining India. And the survival of India depends upon the retrieval of the Nehruvian legacy by the people of this country as no political party is committed to retrieving it.

 It is tragic our government has no data on the number migrants who died while on their way home by foot, during the initial lockdown. It seems the lives of the poor are not worth counting. Since the government doesn’t believe in any kind of data collection that has not been commissioned by it. It denies that there have been any migrant deaths during the pandemic-induced lockdown. This denial of reality by our esteemed government is not only brutal but also shabby disowning of its responsibilities in keeping the nation together in the middle of an unprecedented crisis. It was accentuated by the sudden announcement of total lockdown, with no contingent planning and preparations put in place to meet the inevitable fallout of such an abrupt move and affecting the most vulnerable sections. I was flabbergasted to read in the press about the solicitor general saying ”that no migrant was walking on the road.” This was contrary to the facts as all TV channels were covering live, labourers trudging long distances -- many of them hungry dehydrated, and walking barefoot under the blazing sun. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reacted rightly tweeting ”if you have not counted, have the deaths not taken place? Also, how can the Government discount deaths that were recorded by its own Railway Ministry? Many migrants who died on Shramic trains that were organised much later to ferry them back home? Or were run over by trains as they fell asleep on the tracks, exhausted and beaten? More than 1400 road accidents killed 750 people including 198 migrant workers between March 25 and May 31st according to the newspaper reports.

On the one hand, the government had proudly announced a package of Rs 20 lakh crores, to meet the losses that occurred due to lockdown, along with infinite advertisements about it. On the other hand, it has simply denied sharing the actual position of migrant labourers. The working class along with the farmers are regarded as the backbone of the economy and if they remain unemployed, then the GDP of the nation will never and ever recover. The Government must seriously consider the situation as the GDP is at an all-time low, and the unemployment has broken all previous records. Till we value the laborers, recovery will be a chimera, a smart India a paper town. Besides, “atmanirbharata' can truly take off when we value and respect fellow human beings and not deny their existence.

 In his recent monthly “Mann ki bath” radio monologue, our Hon’ble PM exhorted to rear swadeshi breeds of dog, in more numbers and make more number of swadeshi toys to meet the domestic and global markets for toys. This country has far more serious problems than inadequate numbers of swadeshi dogs and toys. Just 3/4 days ago we have also seen him feeding peacocks and peahens on the lawns of his residence. Most of his countrymen are not in the fortunate position he is in, to emulate him and feel light-hearted. Here he can as well take the credit that he has thought out of the box, in telling to rear more Indian dogs and manufacture more Indian toys to his pet theme “Atmanirbhar Bharath” But I fail to understand how the two endeavours will in themselves go to alleviate the distress caused by Covid19, contain the spread of the disease, revive the economy halt, loss of jobs and create new jobs in any significant measure? 

Instead, Central and state governments should construct new government hospitals rather than statues, temples, parliament buildings, and secretariats. While states want to build their bungalows and secretariat. Neither of them is interested in building new hospitals and infrastructure for schools. Even to this day, many government schools have no adequate toilets separately for ladies /gents. We have been seeing how horrible the situation is in government hospitals, with no beds, no proper toilets, no infrastructure. Disheartening images of inpatient wards inundated in Hyderabad, water falling from the roof on the patients in Bareilly government hospital, pigs roaming inside one hospital in Bangalore, and many more.

Every one knows Corporate hospitals and schools bribe political parties for not developing government schools and hospitals. I'm afraid it will take more concrete steps to get Corona patients treated than clapping or lighting a candle. They get the right treatment only if we have enough hospitals and doctors in the public sector. This is the time to learn lessons, looking at the grim COVID situation in government hospitals. Both Central and state governments should realise and start construction of medical colleges and hospitals, and improve infrastructure adequately so that the poor and middle-class citizens get some relief and we are geared to deal with such situations in the future.

 In an unprecedented move, both Centre and State Governments (where Assembly session is due) are opting to do away with “Question Hour” using the curtailed Monsoon Session Of legislatures. The term’ Pandemic ‘ has now become a convenient excuse to use it, the moment Governments face anything unpalatable to deal with. As such this monsoon session now in legislatures, (state&Central), is very important, as we are passing through a serious and difficult situation wherein, it’s required to draw the attention of the governments on issues of Migrant crisis, Unemployment crisis, Economic slide to unprecedented negative levels, authentic information on Chinese incursions, and GST compensation, etc, which are all burning issues being faced by the country. Surprisingly the ‘pandemic’ is not coming in their ways for laying foundation stones, Demolition/building secretariat, etc. Given the current Pandemic, a short session could be right, but it could have been planned better, by allowing select issues, and short times, etc, but resorting to a total suspension of Question Hour is nothing but autocratic, and atrocious, it’s just a bulldozing mechanism. The Governments Of the day shouldn’t take the law into their hands just because they have a brute majority.

Specifically, when it comes to Loksabha, No Question Hour, No press conferences, No audit of PM-CARES, no transparency in governance,-overall no democracy seems to be the rule, but I'm surprised to note and find, that the present dispensation always make it point to remind us about Emergency regime day in day out. It appears COVID Pandemic is being confidently used as an excuse to coverup failures like GDP contraction, reimbursement of GST dues, etc. Furthermore, in MP the government was successful in toppling, while in Rajasthan, it was tried but failed, during the period of lockdown, all this would have been raised, had there been the Question Hour, this could be one of the important reasons in doing away with the Question Hour, is all that people think.

The step is a blatant attempt to curb the voice of members which amounts massacre of the democratic rights of the people and their representatives.