Democracy: a new form of dictatorship

The phenomenon of development has not only led to a rural to urban shift, but is also a central reason for the depletion of Indian Democracy. In this context, depletion of democracy is synonymous to the domination of the affluent section of our society. Owing to this it seems very clear that the modern Indian democracy is redefining itself, in terms of profit and market rules and not even the Constitution is left untouched. Consequentially the merchants of markets are the new rulers. Rulers of the Indian democratic system. Nothing else matters to them anymore, not even humanity and human rights, which formulate the basis of any democracy.

In the last two decades Bihar, Uttarakhand, Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have witnessed dire consequences of Human Rights violation. These Human Rights usually get violated pertaining to some or the other political influence, leaving the common masses in agony. Like for an instance, in these above mentioned states the so called imprisoned criminals didn’t even know the reason of their imprisonment. Most of the cases are sans F.I.R. and even worse is that the culprits are not even given a copy of an F.I.R. No matter how much the gravity of this issue may be, the reality is absconding. What a pity. This is a normal trend visible apparently in every other state. Our democracy is weakening and it’s clear that democracy is changing its state too. Presently, it’s more of a dominion than anything else.

Bhilai, a city in Chattisgarh, is an eye witness of this appalling actuality. After spending sleepless nights in jail, Ajay TG when came out, he was clueless about the reason of his arrest. Police never bothered to tell him anything about the same. During his trial days Ajay’s wife Shobha and son Aman had no place to live. And sadly Ajay was granted bail on a condition that he would mark his presence in the jail every Monday. He was tortured every now and then for no fault. Is that what a democracy is? Ajay TG, a photographer had never been well off throughout his life. He wanted to teach children, so started up with 10-12 children. For the same cause he linked up with various human rights organizations and volunteers. This made him eye catchy and resultantly he had to bear the brunt of his goodness. His house was ransacked and he was jailed for no cause. Police granted him bail after 93 days, without telling him the reason of his arrest. On papers, Ajay was declared a culprit and his arrest was justified as a special arrest under some illegal offense Act, however the true reason of his arrest is still a mystery.

Similarly, Gadhchiroli district of Maharashtra has witnessed a diminishing sense of Indian democracy. Manku Udake, a denizen, is totally oblivious of the fact that India is now free and that the Govt. works for the nation and its citizens. The only thing he is aware of is that the police rules.

Manku’s father was imprisoned for no reason in 1993 when he was 3. His father died in custody in 1995 and it was only in 1996, an year later, when the family was told about his death. Manku and many others in that area have grown up watching this happen. Police and their injustice. He always wanted to tell this to someone, but didn’t know who, so he decided. He travelled to Delhi, with his lawyer’s letter and lodged a complaint in the Human Right Commission. According to Manku, his father was arrested under TADA as an alleged Naxalite. He was arrested under IPC Act 307,334,353,435 and Arms Act 3/25. All this unfortunately happened without even mentioning the reason of taking him into custody. Manku’s father Renu Kejiram Udake died in the Nagpur jail in 1995. Manku says it is the domination of the audacious police force in Nagpur, who won’t let anyone live. And as far as his petition in the Human Rights Commission is concerned, it’s nothing more than a trivial and insignificant piece of paper now.

Vinod belongs to Sonbhadra, U.P. Ironically Vinod’s very own city has abandoned him. No one cares. The story is the same old one, arrest without being told. Vinod lost his only job, five years back, owing to the closure of a company. Along with other fellow mates, he demanded a compensation. The whole issue resulted into severe police firings in which 3 died and 24 were injured. The company took no notice to this injustice and declared the victims as dead, Vinod being one of them. Vinod, dejected and miserable looked up at the Human Rights Commission (Delhi) for help. He saw a ray of hope which could get him his job back. However, Vinod was unaware of the results he was to face way back home. He was arrested and beaten up for demanding compensation. The company’s building was broken to erect a new building for another company. The reimbursement was demanded again. No one was given anything. On the contrary Vinod was re-arrested. This time with a reason: he had alleged relations with the Maoists and other illegitimate organizations. A depressed Vinod when cried for justice at the Human Rights Commission was given nothing but an assurance, a mere assurance and not a guarantee.

The underlying reality is that no one would claim ones freedom to breathe in the country, but sadly no one would ensure it too. However this is a question in itself. The democracy is shattering and the State isn’t responsible for anything.