The 1851 novel by one of the best English novelists of all time, Charles Dickens, levelling a poignant critique of industrialisation and utilitarianism in England, attempted to present the dehumanising effects of straight-jacketed education, a directionless economy, and unbridled moral policing of his time. Is our time, the so-called 'acche din,' nowhere in sight, in any way different from what Dickens describes in his novel? For those who are used to only a series of 'bure din', there is bad news; the silver lining in the darkest clouds appears to be just a mirage, playing hide-and-seek with not only our consciences, but also our very lives.

Look at any area in the lives of the aam aadmi – be it educational, career orientation, employment, sustainability, government subsidy, there is a political game interrupting and intercepting the lifeline and imposing overarching power and control over the citizens, that one might feel utterly helpless. It does not require great minds to say that the nation is not sane any more – a blindly obedient judiciary that would go the extra mile to cough out the ruling party's dictums, denying justice to the thousands who had still believed in the independence and unbiased nature of the judiciary.

The thick-skinned education minister who would go to any extent to save his ministerial berth, even at the cost of ruining the lives of thousands of young men and women, and a Prime Minister who seems to follow the proverbial three monkeys – see nothing, hear nothing and speak nothing, absolutely oblivious of what is happening around him.

Welcome to the start of the Dark Ages, and India might show the world as pioneers how to be blind to the cry of the young and the old, how to build glass houses and yet daring to throw stones at others, oblivious it might take just a couple of stones to bring down the glass house, and the cockroaches are just getting ready to do that by hook or by crook.

Beginning of the End
Looking at what is happening at the helm of affairs in the government, both at the Centre and in the states, reminds one of what English poet William Butler Yeats wrote in 1919 in his poem, The Second Coming:
Things fall apart; the Centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

One wonders if we are witnessing the beginning of the end of a regime in the Centre, blind to what is happening around, and blissfully chanting the stale stanzas of a utopian concept of 'good times.' Ask any citizen in the country whether they had ever had a good time after the saffron party took charge of the country.

But there are some positive signs; perhaps this is the right time to hit the nail on the head. The youth of the nation seem to be convinced that they cannot afford to lay bare their future in the whimsical, erratic and narrow-minded leaders of the nation. It is time that they take responsibility for the debacle the high and mighty leaders have caused, playing havoc with the lives of hundreds, and pay a price for their mindless and one-way authoritarian regime.

It is not that the youth of the nation have to learn a lesson from neighbouring nations (Bangladesh and Nepal) to take their future into their own hands and shape it the way they wish, with inclusivity.

SIR, you were blatantly biased
One of the most shocking judgments the nation witnessed from the hallowed portals of the Supreme Court of India in the recent past was the concluding judgment on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), upholding the exercise and categorically stating that just because the exercise does not adhere strictly to modalities, it cannot be invalidated.

The judgment gave SIR legitimacy and constitutional validity, finding the SIR on legitimate ground and in consonance with the Representation of the People's Act and the 1960 Rules. Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan had described the ruling as a 'blot' on the court, comparing it to the ADM Jabalpur judgment during the Emergency. Such was the response of political activist and petitioner, Yogendra Yadav.

In recent decades, the nation has witnessed how justice on some of the most crucial issues has been utterly lopsided, the Chief Justices of India having a deliberate leaning on the side of the government, fighting as it were, they were party to the ruling party in power, oblivious of the jurisprudence and the judiciary being an independent pillar of the nation.

In the past, we had witnessed that the former Chief Justices took the side of the government, hoping tacitly to gain a seat at the Rajya Sabha, and therefore would go to any extent to protect the vile, blatant violation of natural justice, as in the case of the judgment on the Ayodhya-Babri Masjid issue. Thus, the first demand of the Cockroach Janata Party: "If the CJP comes to power, no Chief Justice shall be granted a Rajya Sabha seat as a post-retirement reward." Unfortunately, there are some power-mongering former Chief Justices who continue to enjoy.

The government in the Centre had to go to extreme limits to protect and safeguard the arrogant, narrow-minded Chief Election Commissioner, who bulldozed his impartial chair to let the majoritarian ruling party have its way, even to the extent of denying the legitimate right to vote, on flimsy grounds of lack of documents. Even the judiciary lacked the backbone to declare the SIR unconstitutional, given that the exercise had left lakhs of citizens in limbo.

Thus, the second demand of the Cockroaches to arrest the Chief Election Commissioner under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for all deleted votes, for taking away voting rights of citizens, is no less than terrorism, the CJP website states. It is possible that after the Education Minister, Mr Dharmendra Pradhan, it might be the CEC's turn to face the fire.

Cockroaches to Crocodiles
The ugly, lazy cockroaches in the country seem to be fast acquiring a new identity, much to the government's displeasure. The metamorphosis of the detestable cockroaches into 'man'-eating crocodiles is something unprecedented, and what is awaiting the nation to witness could alter the very trajectory of the nation's forward movement, and may carve a niche in the annals of the nation for future generations.

While the social-media-based satirical youth movement is still too young to consider political involvement, one cannot rule out the possibility that it is a logical conclusion of what is happening in the country. The party had decided to demand accountability from the nation's leaders who had taken the people for granted. Their demand for the resignation of the Minister for Education, Mr Dharmendra Pradhan, is just the tip of the iceberg. In the months to come, we might see several other heads rolling, unseated, and sent to permanent retirement from politics.

Unfortunately, most governments at the Centre and in the states have taken the youth for granted, often keeping them under their control by doling out money and muscle through college and university students' unions and clubs in rural areas. They were often considered disposable commodities, and the rise of youth to claim their rightful place in nation-building is sure to set several things right, including making elected government members accountable.

We are yet to recognise the power of about one crore youth of the nation, a sizeable population plagued by a lack of opportunities (with the NEET, JEE, and other competitive examinations infested with loopholes too large to repair or replace). Unemployment is not a voluntary choice for youth, but a situation forced upon them. CJP seems to address this issue as well. We hope to see the CJP take up more burning issues rocking the nation and bring an end to the narrow-minded, partisan, arrogant majoritarian government.

Reign of the Bulldozers
The bulldozers seem to be having their heyday, even as the newly elected chief minister of West Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari, is finding new areas to crack down on, sending hawkers, shopkeepers and vendors to find other alternatives. The bulldozers seemed to have blindly rolled in to pull down seemingly illegal, unauthorised structures, destroying the sole livelihood options the victims had. No one questions the need to remove illegal structures that obstruct public roads and pedestrian paths, but before such removal, it would be expedient to consider and study what prompted so many people to resort to squatting in those places.

After the clean-up operations, the bulldozers are still on the prowl, and many of the hawkers, driven out of their livelihoods, have resorted to begging for food; such horrifying scenes are viral on social media. Would the chief minister of West Bengal have any care or concern for these men and women driven to the streets? One thing seems clear: the West Bengal chief minister is running out of time to clean up the state, as if he had intended to set it right within the first three months. There is a mad rush to get things done: imagine forcing district administrations to complete formalities for the Annapurna social welfare scheme for women of the state (shifting from Lakshmir Bhandar) within 24 hours. The chief minister needs a poster in his office: Go slow. Dangerous curves ahead.

What had happened to Abhishek Banerjee in Sonarpur on the outskirts of Kolkata on May 30, as he visited the victims of post-poll violence, tells about the political atmosphere Bengal has entered into. It is not just political rivalry, but hardcore violence inflicted on the losers; on the one hand, the BJP is playing the divide and rule game with the Trinamool Congress MLAs, and on the other, there is a tacit and direct attack on the leaders and members of the erstwhile ruling party in the state.

It does not require a Sherlock Holmes to investigate and conclude that the entire incident was meticulously planned with the chief minister's approval to shame a member of parliament and even wipe out his memory. The numerous videos on social media, women being distributed eggs to throw at the TMC MP, BJP goons throwing stones, other men heckling Banerjee, and yet the police had arrested just six people in this regard. If the police are honest and truthful, they should first arrest the BJP MLAs and even the chief minister for orchestrating such a blot on democracy.

Looking at what is happening in the country, the lives of those who stand against the arrogant majoritarian party in the Centre and in the states are in peril. One wonders if we are preparing the ground for a neo-Nazi regime, very similar to the North Korean government. The voice of dissent is branded a threat to national security and silenced; meaningless laws are imposed to remove anyone who stands in the way of the rule with an iron fist.

We are tasting of what is to come in a big way, and yet there is a silver lining in the midst of the darkest political-social clouds. If all the cockroaches (alias unemployed, lazy, parasite, fake-degree holding youth) of the nation stand up together and raise their voice, then no one can withstand their cry for justice, accountability and transparency.