Responsibilities for a Resurgent Republic

By Fr Joshan Rodrigues –

For the first time in decades, India’s Republic Day celebrations will be devoid of a foreign Chief Guest. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was to grace the occasion, has recused himself, citing the precarious pandemic situation in his country at present, and the tight lockdown restrictions imposed by his government. This will be symbolic of an extraordinary year that has gone by, peppered with many firsts for our generation, which undoubtedly will remain in living memory for a long time to come.

Three events in recent days, though, have brought a resurgence of hope to a country bogged down for months by the vicissitudes of the pandemic. The first was the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines on January 16, one produced by Oxford-AstraZeneca, and the other made-in-India by Bharat Biotech. India set the first-day record for the number of people vaccinated, compared to any other country. Though the warp-speed manufacture of these vaccines has led to ‘vaccine hesitancy’ among a section of the populace, this is expected to mitigate as the months go by.

Three days later, on January 19, an Indian team plucked from amongst reserve players straight from the bench, defeated a superior Australian side at the Gabba, in what is being described by cricketing pundits as India’s most memorable Test victory yet. Defying all odds to emerge victorious after an agonising first Test match disaster at Adelaide, the team captain Virat Kohli away on paternity leave, and most of the regular playing Eleven out of action due to injuries, this fairy-tale win was emblematic of a nation rising from the ashes of the pandemic, after everything that went wrong in the last ten months. Finally, the third booster of resurgence happened on January 21, when the Sensex crossed the 50,000 mark for the first time in the BSE’s history. The fact that this stellar fifty came despite a pandemic, a strict lockdown and weak domestic production and sales, points to a revival of the Indian economy in the coming days.

Though there is little that can halt India from realising its dream of domestic prosperity and global heft, there are three ‘Freedoms’ whose steady unravelling promise to derail the Indian juggernaut, as we stand on the cusp of our 72nd Republic Day. The first is the Freedom of Religion and the Founding Fathers’ vision of a secular republic, where one’s expression of faith does not become an impediment to life and liberty. Unfortunately, India has set off on the path of Hindu nationalism (similar nationalistic governments have emerged in many countries globally), which threatens to dismantle one of the core foundations on which India was built. Secularism is not just a phenomenon of the modern Indian state, but has been etched in India’s long and rich history, and which was rightly recognised as such by India’s Founding Fathers. India’s superpower status recorded in the annals of history has been significantly attributed to it being a cradle of civilisations and a nursery of varied faiths. Recent events such as the blanket ban on cow slaughter, ‘Love Jihad’ laws enacted by various State governments, attacks on minority places of worship in the hinterlands, stringent financial scrutiny of religious institutions and a political discourse based on dividing the populace along religious lines, all point towards an unravelling of India’s rich spiritual legacy.

It is astounding to think that Hinduism would feel threatened today by minority faiths, when in reality, Hinduism was at the peak of its spiritual and philosophical pre-eminence at exactly the same time when it lived in harmony with other religious traditions, and even offered ‘room inside the inn’, where new religions were born. The appropriation of Hinduism by a single entity will also cement caste and ethnic inequalities that exist sociologically within itself, and impede India’s progress towards equal human dignity and prosperity for all. Recent battles at State elections have seen political discourse based on religion and claims to a region’s cultural icons and traditions, rather than on development issues and a correction of institutional breakdowns. India’s citizens need to reject this trap, render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and render to God what belongs to God.

The second is the Freedom of Expression and Dissent which is vital to the very sustenance of democratic life. The recent controversy surrounding WhatsApp’s privacy laws may prove to be a red herring, as compared to the actual issues of the erosion of journalistic freedoms and a state-sponsored crackdown on the expression of dissent and criticism of those in power. A number of journalists have been slapped with non-bailable and stringent legal cases.

In 2010, India was placed at 122 in the World Press Freedom Index; in 2019, it was at 140. Even India’s neighbours like Nepal and Sri Lanka are ranked higher. Journalists pursuing stories unearthing corruption and political-corporate nexus have faced violence by police, ambushes by political activists, and reprisals instigated by criminal groups or corrupt local officials. Maybe an equally pressing issue is the appropriation of media by the powers that be. A number of media news channels are today perceived to be mouthpieces of their political masters, rather than fortresses of truthful, responsible and rigorous journalistic practice.

The recent TRP scandal is a case in point. While the print media, by and large, continue to be seen as trustworthy sources of news, sometimes an intentional omission of important issues that need to be told can breach their claims to ethical and responsible news reporting. If India is serious about its two-fold ambition, then it needs to seriously guard judicial and journalistic impartiality. Clamping down on the press only serves short-term political ends, and nothing else. The true progress and rise of a nation, based on an equitable distribution of opportunity and prosperity, is only possible if a sturdy system of checks and balances is in place, which places justice, truth and righteousness above narrow ideologies and self-seeking short-term goals.

Freedom of expression must also be guaranteed at the individual level. Today, any political criticism by ordinary citizens in the social media space is met with quick reprisals, either by being slapped with cases based on archaic and outdated laws, or physical intimidation by political muscle power. A government that is unable to listen to criticism and feedback from its citizens does not have the moral stature to govern in the name of those very citizens. Political discourse today has descended to name-calling, rather than an issue-based debate poised on the principles of civility and reason.

Recent instances of government-controlled economic watchdogs being unleashed on dissenters is also bad for a healthy democracy. The arrest of Fr Stan Swamy and 15 other human rights defenders who are languishing in jail for their alleged involvement in the Bhima-Koregaon violence case is antithetical to democracy. When a government begins imprisoning people who work for the least and last in society, withholding their right to a fair, free and fast trial, a glorious future cannot be expected.

The third and final freedom is Freedom from Poverty. Poverty should be defined not just economically, but also as social, moral and ethical poverty. A resurgent India should be based on the common good of all its citizens, irrespective of their status, economic heft, religion, caste, language or culture. India needs to ardently work to build structures and systems that help the poor and marginalised emerge from the shackles of poverty on their own terms and ambitions. The quota system, reservation system and subsidies were all envisioned by our Founding Fathers as a mechanism to lift the millions out of poverty and social inequality after independence, but a continued dependence on these systems even 70 years later points to a failure of successive governments to realise that vision. India will truly shine when everyone is presented with equal opportunities and resources, and each can achieve success and progress on the basis of their inherent talents and potentialities. Freedom from poverty cannot be achieved without a rich respect for the natural environment and cultural legacies of peoples. Uniformity will prove to be a detriment to India, whose strength lies in the rich and varied traditions of its people.

As we celebrate India’s 72nd Republic Day, both government and citizens must pledge to uphold and fight for these freedoms which form the foundation of the rich tapestry of this country. India’s rise in the 21st century will be lost unless we protect these three pillars which form the very core of the Republic of India.

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Fr Joshan Rodrigues is the Managing Editor of The Examiner, Catholic Newsweekly of the Archdiocese of Bombay. He is an alumnus of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome in Institutional and Social Communications. He has done brief stints with the DeSales Media Group in Brooklyn, New York and Communications Office of the Episcopal Conference of England and Wales, London. He frequently blogs on faith and culture in ‘Musings in Catholic Land’