Republic Day is celebrated on 26th January every year as the date on which the Indian Constitution became our secular gospel. There is no better occasion to reflect on where the nation stands today in its resolve to “constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC” and to ensure for its citizens – justice, liberty, equality and fraternity.

In the last few years, we have been in the grip of an overpowering populist nationalism that is unapologetically majoritarian in its worldview. What is particularly unnerving is the systematic undermining of democratic values and the active fostering of schisms within society. To use the current lexicon in vogue, India today is a striking example of an “illiberal State”, which is virtually an intermediate staging post en route to an authoritarian regime. The signs are ominous indeed! 

Some historians have identified Lenin’s Soviet Union as the quintessential illiberal one-party State – loyalty-based, anticompetitive, intolerant and intimidating - that has served as the paradigm for the autocratic leaders of this Century. The most prominent example of an illiberal State is Russia under Vladimir Putin. A former KGB officer, Putin has been either PM or President of Russia since 2000.  Under his leadership Russia has experienced what political scientists call democratic backsliding or autocratization – rubrics employed to describe a decline in democratic values and weakening of institutions. But Russia is not alone in debasing democracy. Countries across the world - from Hungary and Poland in Europe to the Philippines and the umpteen countries in Africa - have come under the spell of populist leaders who care little for civil liberties and the rule of law. Viktor Orban, the PM of Hungary and archetypal “illiberal” strongman has bragged that behind the veneer of democracy, a nation can be a winner by rejecting liberal values and democratic norms.

The illiberal State has certain typical characteristics. Most importantly, the illiberal State gets its lifeblood from the persona of the Supreme Leader who uses his magnetism and aura to seduce the majority into craven servility and endorsement of his every action. The creed of his Party is a fervid hyper-nationalism that plays on the fears and insecurities of ordinary citizens by demonizing the enemy within – ethnic or religious minorities, migrants, dissidents who are identified as “the Other”. 

Religion is a key ingredient in the matrix of the illiberal State and is politically harnessed to rally round the faithful. A recent egregious example is of Turkey’s Erdogan who committed unforgivable cultural vandalism by converting the UNESCO World heritage site, Hagia Sophia, into a mosque. 

All institutions of the State are commandeered to execute the agenda of the Party and Supreme Leader. Loyal business elites are encouraged through financial incentives and cronyism. The media is subjugated and becomes the propaganda tool for the Leader and the Party. Dissenters are identified and punished as enemies of the State.

By all appearances, India today seems to have perfected the template of the illiberal State. We have arguably the most powerful politician since Independence as our Prime Minister. Since storming to power six years ago, Narendra Modi has attained cult status, venerated by his legion of devotees as a strong, decisive reformer and visionary. India Today’s most recent survey has Modi rated as the best PM ever with more votes than Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi combined. Despite a flailing economy, pandemic -related missteps and a frayed social fabric, 74 percent of respondents have rated Modi’s performance as good or outstanding. But stripped of the choreographed eulogies, hype and propaganda, the story of our society over the last few years has been nothing but a chilling tragedy. 

Power through polarisation is the ruling party’s mantra for success. Ironically, the man who coined that beautiful slogan of social solidarity – Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas Sabka Vishwas- bears great responsibility for polarising our society in order to hold on to power. Under his watch, the country is more divided than ever, with the Muslim clearly targeted as the enemy within. Demonising the Muslim is deliberate State policy and proving to be the surest way to rally around the majority. The anti-conversion, anti-cow slaughter laws, the abrogation of Article 370, the CAA are blatant examples of the majoritarian character of the State and are designed to build impenetrable barriers between Hindu and Muslim.

A past master in the art of the dog whistle, Modi has used loaded terms such as “pink revolution”, “qabristan…. shamshaan”, “Ahmed miyan” to accentuate the cultural and religious differences and thereby fracture fraternity between the two communities Our society today is in thrall of a mix of ultra-nationalistic fervour and a rabid anti-minority impulse.

The Muslim today lives his life to the drumbeats of hate and discrimination. Social interaction is purportedly the best antidote against prejudice but what we see is a conscious effort to isolate the Muslim. A few days ago, on January 20th, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi which is controlled by the BJP, issued orders making it mandatory for restaurants and shops to display and advertise prominently that the meat and poultry they serve is “halal” or “jhatka”. The rationale, as set forth in the Resolution is that, “according to Hinduism and Sikhism, eating ‘halal’ meat is forbidden and against religion.” By raising what has hitherto been a non-issue, this order is clearly designed to drive a wedge between Muslims and their fellow citizens. Moreover, the order will hurt Muslim traders who constitute the overwhelming majority engaged in this business but who cares?  It is dismissed as just another routine swipe at a beleaguered community. No big deal!

Most institutions have become subordinate adjuncts of the political executive. The Supreme Court, the prime guardian of the Constitution, has failed in its sacred duty to ensure justice free of partisan considerations. Most recently, the SC declined to pass an order to protect the artists of’ ’Tandav’ from arrest on the charge of hurting religious sentiments but the same court had no compunction in handing over the Babri site to the community that brought down the mosque. Touché!  The litany of questionable judgements in recent years has seriously damaged its credibility. The denizens in the Election Commission, the RBI, the Niti Aayog, the RTI Commission, the Ministries have been reduced to choir boys singing from His Master’s hymn sheet. Those who dared speak truth to power have been eased out. One of the more prominent acolytes of the establishment bemoaned the fact that too much of democracy was retarding reforms. Was he airing the Government view? 

Dissent has been criminalised as anti-national. Not only protests but even possession of revolutionary literature is being viewed as subversion and a conspiracy to incite insurrection against the State. The security and enforcement agencies, equipped with the draconian UAPA and NSA laws, are being employed as weapons of intimidation against the opponents of the regime. But in our surreal world, the Kapil Mishras and the goli maro salon ko loyalists are the nation’s patriots.  

Jim Morrison, rock legend and poet, succinctly described the omnipotent role of the media thus: “Whoever controls the media controls the mind.” Tragically, the Indian media, barring a few exceptions, are mere stenographers to power, to use Amy Goodman’s evocative phrase. The media has become the most potent weapon for mass disinformation and is being used with deadly effect to spread the poison of hate, vilification and violence. In the bargain, truth and facts as the quintessential obligation in all human interaction have lost their salience.

Our secularism had hitherto meant the recognition and celebration of a multicultural ethos, equality and respect for all religions. However, in the last few years, the cocktail of politics and religion is being used with deadly effect against the minorities, particularly Muslims. In this context, Christian leaders who are playing footsie with the ruling dispensation need to be reminded of Pastor Niemoller’s poignant and dire warning:

“First they came for the socialists and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist;

Then they came for the trade unionists and……

Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak because I was not a Jew; 

Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me.”

In this critical time, the ongoing farmers’ protests did seem to offer a faint glimmer of hope that the country would recover its democratic mojo and break this creeping darkness closing in on us. But the farmers have shot themselves in the foot by indulging in unconscionable violence on 26th January, seriously injuring hundreds of policemen. By the looks of it, the country will be back to where it was before the protests. 

 HEIL ILLIBERAL STATE!

Mathew John
(The writer is a retired civil servant)