Bharat Bhagya Vidhata: India¡¯s Soft Power & Global Image At Stake As Protests, Violence Mounts
As a nation that took pride in its democratic norms and secular ethos, India was looked up to by the rest of the world and stood for peace and harmony. But that is at stake today.
Over 70 years after India became an independent nation, and affirmed its commitment to democratic norms, the country of over 1.3 billion people is seeing an unprecedented churn as far as its constitutional norms and secular ethos is concerned.
The controversial legislation, pertaining to citizenship was passed by both houses of Indian parliament, leading to massive hue and cry among citizens. The protests first surfaced in the northeastern regions of the country but have now expanded to almost all its parts. At least five states have outrightly rejected the new law while noted personalities from the fields of arts, culture and the sciences have called it divisive.
This is not something new in India as almost every controversial legislation sees a significant opposition in the country that follows multi-party system and has numerous diversities. The difference this time, however, is the scale of the protests and the brutal attempts by law enforcing agencies to curb the demonstrations.
As a nation that took pride in its democratic norms and secular ethos, India was looked up to by the rest of the world and stood for peace and harmony. Through tumultuous times across the globe, examples of India would be cited to bring people together. Mahatma Gandhi, India¡¯s Father of the Nation, continues to be an inspiration for many around the world and his values of ¡®Satya, Dharma and Ahimsa¡¯ hold relevance even seven decades after his assassination.
There is no denying that the journey of independent India has not been a bed of roses and there have been several incidents when India let down its own formative principles. But the strength of India lay in its Unity in Diversity, which brought people together and enabled them to reach a consensus.
Ae Watan , Ae Watan , Humko Teri Kasam...Teri Rahoo Mei Jaan Tak Luta Dege Hum
¡ª Shreya Dhoundial (@shreyadhoundial) November 30, 2019
Watch Russian Army Cadets sing the Mhd Rafi Classic from Shaheed...Hv loved this song since i was a kid... pic.twitter.com/fwIVkvU15R
Despite the numerous challenges that India faced, we have successfully managed to portray ourselves as a population that is internationally revered and held in high gestures. We may not be the greatest economy on the planet, we may not have the biggest army but we have won hearts and wherever we went, we shared the glorious stories of our civilization. And we did not do so aggressively to challenge and look down upon others. It was always a soft power, and one can trace it as far back in time as Swami Vivekananda¡¯s historic speech in Chicago at the Parliament of the World¡¯s Religions.
The story of India has since been told by the songs of Bollywood, hummed by Russians and the British long before India¡¯s rise as a world power. Our arts and cultural extravaganza, our writers and our philosophers have been the flag-bearers of India in ways more than the duly appointed diplomats. Above all, we always held a moral ground. We stood for the right, cared for the oppressed and fought the good fight, at least we seemed to do so.
But, that is threatened today and the way the world looks at India is changing rapidly.
The controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which excludes one religion, is being seen as divisive by critics and intellectuals. India¡¯s vibrant student community, which has historically been the backbone of many struggles such as the country¡¯s freedom movement and the fight to restore democracy during the authoritative regime of Indira Gandhi, is up in arms against it.
The disenchantment among the student fraternity comes against the backdrop of several allegations by pupils with regards to the state¡¯s anti-student policy such as an unprecedented fee hike in public universities.
A democracy such as India ought to respect freedom of speech and the right of its citizens to dissent against the policies that they disagree with. These protests reached a crescendo in the national capital, and the state responded in the most unconstitutional way possible. Violence. Not from those protesting, not from those agitating, but from those who were supposed to withhold the peace.
Since then, there have been daily demonstrations and protests in several parts of the country but the Indian government is not only using brutal force to curb protests but it is also suspending internet and imposing prohibitory orders at its whim.
This doesn¡¯t augur well for a thriving democracy and has sent ripples across the globe as prominent personalities, as well as institutions and pro-people groups, are taking note of it.
But this is not the only reason for India¡¯s dwindling image abroad. It was but customary for Indian students studying abroad to take pride in their national heritage. They were traditionally the ambassadors of India in the true sense and have, at numerous instances, held rallies and events that have enabled our global position to reach where it is now.
University of Oxford students reading the Preamble of the Indian Constitution, reminding the modi that protestors are merely asking for the constitution to be honoured
¡ª Ranjan Tendulkar (@TendulkarRanjan) December 17, 2019
pic.twitter.com/uWdmXAhr0D
The same students are today opposing the atrocities of their own government in foreign countries. From Oxford to Harvard and every institution of repute, Indian students are raising their voice against the atrocities of the state being meted out to their fellow citizens back home.
#India: We are concerned that the new #CitizenshipAmendmentAct is fundamentally discriminatory in nature. Goal of protecting persecuted groups is welcomed, but new law does not extend protection to Muslims, incl. minority sects: https://t.co/ziCNTWvxc2#FightRacism #CABProtests pic.twitter.com/apWbEqpDOZ
¡ª UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) December 13, 2019
The United Nations has dubbed the new Act, which gives priority to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians resident in India before 2014, but excludes Muslims, including minority sects, as ¡°fundamentally discriminatory¡± while several heads of state have also voiced their opinions against it.
India is a sovereign state and has the power to enact the laws that are passed by its parliament. It shall in no way come under fear or favour of any other country or organisation. But a law that is discriminatory in its nature and is opposed by a vast majority of Indian population could have been rethought, or at least, attempts could have been made to reach to a consensus among people.
The world's biggest democracy has been subverted by Modi.
¡ª Rula Jebreal (@rulajebreal) December 21, 2019
14 are dead in protests against India¡¯s just-passed citizenship law, by which one¡¯s religion is now the pivotal qualification for Indian citizenship, or, conversely, illegal immigrant. https://t.co/2woj0VXyra
Modi has become one of the most dangerous men in the world, a threat to his own people and to democracy. https://t.co/rzUpUqBP1C
¡ª David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) December 21, 2019
With that opportunity gone, violence and chaos have come to rule the roost but those in power continue to delegitimise the protesters and use force and coercive action to shut them up even as top publications in the world are taking increasing note of it.