From fear to defiance: Youth challenge 'elected autocracy'

By Ram Puniyani* 

The formation of the Cockroach Janata Party and the protest demonstration at Jantar Mantar are too well known by now. The torture of youth, the lathi charge by uniformed police and other dubious elements, the use of pellet guns and even AK-47s were totally against the norms of democratic values. The other side of the protest was equally remarkable: youth singing and dancing, making posters collectively, laughing and celebrating, reminding one of Karl Marx’s famous adage that “revolution is the festival of the masses,” though the scale and context of the Jantar Mantar protest and many other protests across the country were entirely different.

The autocratic government, which has remained totally unresponsive to the legitimate cries of the people, finally buckled after a long time as the pattern of protest spread from one city to another. The inhibitions imposed by the government's dictatorial stance began to melt into thin air. Earlier, we had seen the same government remain impervious to the farmers’ protests, which lasted for over twelve months and were withdrawn only when elections were approaching. The government also encouraged disruptive elements to undermine the Shaheen Bagh movement. Likewise, the prolonged protests against examination paper leaks were completely ignored.

This time, however, matters were different. The government initially tried to look the other way but eventually had to accept the protesters’ demands, the major one being the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. He has been replaced by Prahlad Joshi, who also comes from an RSS background. His outlook can be judged from his approval of the release of the rapists in the Bilkis Bano case (https://x.com/MahuaMoitra/status/2082168523946893385/video/1). A committee has now been formed to look into the issue of paper leaks, but interestingly it includes people who, according to Priyanka Gandhi, specialise in promoting cow urine, along with others who know little about the fundamentals of the education system.

While student leaders are currently struggling to ensure that the government honours its written assurances, we also need to understand the significance of this student uprising. It is nowhere close to the student uprisings in France in 1968 or to the mass movements witnessed in neighbouring Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, or Nepal. Nevertheless, it has contributed substantially to changing the perceptions created by the BJP’s IT cell. The influence of the Godi media, along with the RSS’s extensive word-of-mouth propaganda through its shakhas, hundreds of schools, and numerous affiliated organisations, has been challenged. The sense of fearlessness in speaking out against the government is likely to return gradually.

While the Cockroach Janata Party and its leader Abhijit Dipke acted as the immediate catalyst for the protests, the ground had been prepared over many years. Rising unemployment, the increasing cost of living, and growing destitution formed the foundation on which this movement stood. Although the ruling dispensation dismisses declining rankings on indices measuring freedom of expression, freedom of religion, hunger, and happiness, these indicators do reflect the worsening social situation in the country.

While the mainstream media has reversed its role, becoming an eulogiser of those in power and a critic of the opposition, the collapse of this Fourth Estate was reflected when journalists from the Godi media were hooted by the crowd. Though such incidents should not have occurred, they nevertheless reflect the public perception that the Godi media has abandoned its journalistic responsibilities to become the handmaiden of those in power. The spirit of the youth was very much on display and was heartening, as it sought to lift some of the restrictions imposed on democratic freedoms.

Has the movement achieved all its goals? That depends on how we define the totality of its objectives. The change of the Education Minister, though significant in denting the ego of the “non-biological,” is unlikely to change matters substantially, as Tweedledum has merely been replaced by Tweedledee. The root causes of paper leaks and corruption in society remain unaddressed. Corruption can be curbed only by making the system more transparent and open to public scrutiny. Although the RSS supported the Anna movement, which eventually led to the formation of the AAP to weaken the Congress, the NDA itself made no serious effort to eradicate corruption. Nor did corruption ever become a central concern of the ruling government. The massive investment in roads and bridges was soon exposed as many of these structures collapsed or were washed away, suggesting serious deficiencies and possible corruption in their construction.

One has to concede that much of the ground for this partial success was also prepared by Rahul Gandhi’s repeated campaigns exposing the government's callous attitude towards social issues. Whether the communal polarisation fostered by the RSS-BJP has weakened as a result of the July Jantar Mantar dharna remains uncertain. The deeper problems affecting the system need to be understood in a broader context. Can this movement, in the long run, remain independent of electoral politics while taking up the larger issue of communal forces that have derailed the national agenda of peace and progress? The “idea of India,” as envisioned by the freedom movement and embodied in our Constitution, has been systematically bypassed in order to push the country towards a Hindu Rashtra. The agenda of nation-building has increasingly been replaced by the politics of demolishing mosques and undermining universities. The state has gradually been infiltrated by those trained in RSS shakhas or influenced by the Godi media and social media, popularly known as WhatsApp University.

This dharna came as a breath of fresh air. What is still needed is for its march to continue until it helps restore our identity as Indian citizens rather than as Hindus or Muslims. The country belongs to all its people, whereas communal politics seeks to establish a Hindu Rashtra based on the Manusmriti. The larger agenda is to impose Brahminical values while relegating Muslims, Christians, Adivasis, Dalits, workers, and women to the status of second-class citizens.

One cannot but feel encouraged by the energy and optimism generated by this dharna. However, to presume that it has fully achieved its goals would be self-defeating. Until we are able to contain, if not completely defeat, communal forces, we will continue to face one injustice after another from the present ruling dispensation. We hail and salute the youth and students, and hope that they will, in due course, also take up the larger challenge of resisting the continuing indirect attacks on our Constitution.

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*Well known political analyst