This post first appeared on LinkedIn
I feel equally sorry for all the right winger trad bhakts who felt that once ‘their’ government was in power, both a litre of petrol and the US Dollar would become ₹35, China will vacate our land, Vivek Agnihotri will win an Oscar, Indian Ayurveda practitioners will be awarded the Nobel in medicine, the Indian passport will be the most powerful piece of paper in the world, and the American President will end his speeches with JSR from the very next day as I do for those leftist liberals who fervently believe that once ‘their’ government is in power, hate will stop, the media will be free, the police will protect you and side with the law, the farmers will stop killing themselves, children will be fed and educated, Naxals will enter a float in the Republic Day parade where they’ll dress up in costumes and present their ‘traditional dance form’ for the visiting dignitary, Kashmiri terrorists will sing Sare Jahaan Se Achha in the UN, your Gujarati Jain neighbour will invite you for Iftaar, and the chief justice will be fair, fearless, and impartial not just in oration but in actual action & deeds.
The eternal truth is that throughout history, at least in India, only the rulers have changed. Never the rules. Why do you think your own times or generation should be the exception?
So, what’s the solution? It is this: true democracy.
In a true democracy, the citizens never stop asking questions. They never stop holding those in power accountable. They never stop demanding a better society. They don’t let up on pushing their government to fulfil the promises they made. They never worship at the altar of their leader. They don’t give their leaders a free pass. They don’t behave like cultists. They don’t give excuses on behalf of their leaders. They don’t become sycophants and apologists for the government and its leaders. And they don’t rest. Regardless of who or which government or party is in power.
Because in a true democracy, the citizens know that every politician, every elected leader, every bureaucrat, every government official, every billionaire, every big corporation is in fact in power and on the treasury benches, and the citizens are the opposition. The political landscape isn’t divided into your party v/s my party, but all parties & their funders v/s Indians. The day we recognise that, India will win.
When the politicians say, ‘Ek hain to safe hain!‘ they mean them v/s us. We citizens must also internalise the slogan. But in our case, we must look at all Indian citizens as one, fighting for what is our right, against the ruling class who has always ganged up to deny us. Truly, ‘Ek hain to safe hain!’
The price of democracy, of freedom itself, is eternal vigilance. Don’t forget that.
Anyway, here’s a random, un-LinkedInworthy photo of me this morning as I dropped off Misbahji and Maryam to school and went to see Maa, wearing my new Kolhapuri chappals. Apparently, posts with images get better engagement. I know. I know. It is unrelated. And totally unprofessional. But what the hell, I say. Vain for a penny. Vain for a pound. Right?
