It is startling to see that a staggering 146 members of the Parliament from both houses have been suspended. One could argue that suspensions have been issued before. However, it is the first time that so many members have been removed from the premises for the entirety of the remaining session.

The source of unrest can be traced back to the breach of the Parliament complex on December 13, 2023, by four youths to protest against unemployment, among other things. Two of them entered the Lok Sabha building in session; one jumped from the visitor's gallery and set off a canister spewing yellow gas all over while the other chanted slogans. The other two did not enter the complex but were protesting adjacent to the complex.

The proceedings in both houses resumed after being adjourned for a while following this breach. The next day, on the 14th, 15 opposition members calling for a statement from the Home Minister, Amit Shah, were suspended (one mistakenly, which was later revoked). On December 18, the presidents of the houses, who just happen to belong to the BJP, suspended another 78 members with impunity, displaying partisan behaviour. They continued in the same spirit, suspending 49 on December 19, two on December 20 and three on the 21st, raising the tally to 146.

The BJP's taciturn silence and the involvement of the BJP MP Pratap Simha, who aided in issuing visitors' passes to the two youths, raises some interesting questions, which we won't delve into here for fear of what they may reveal.

The Indian Express reports that there have been at least 217 instances of MP suspension from Parliament. A cursory glance would reveal that almost all of them were claimed to be disrupting the house proceedings with unruly behaviour; a closer look would reveal to the astute reader that it only includes those who question the BJP or the bills they want passed.

Tragically, these events are being sidelined as a contest between rivals rather than being noticed as signs of a rising trend threatening to take away our fundamental rights. We are still expecting the pillars of democracy to prop us up even as they have been corroded right in front of our eyes. The media, which forms one of the pillars, has already been made skeletal, sapped of its vigour by constant bullying. The mainstream ones now happily follow power, wagging their tails, while those who dare to speak are trampled, crushed, or ignored because they won't have any impact. The other pillar is only a mirage that doesn't dare to stand up to defend what has been entrusted to it. They only approvingly nod to all the actions and give a complementary rap on the back of the hand to make believe that they have served justice. All that remains is a sham to cover up the reality of what it truly is.

One might or rather should question the government's need, which enjoys an absolute majority, to act in such a high-handed manner. It could have passed any bill without a hiccup, as it has been doing till today. The government (since the Opposition has practically been ousted) has passed some critical bills during this session. The recently passed bills on criminal code and telecommunications, which have fundamentally just been copy-pasted with a few essential modifications and a new cover, unbeknown to the people, have given the government sweeping powers of surveillance and control over the citizens while at the same time enshrouding the workings of the government. Naming these bills in Hindi, not even the lingua franca of a significant section of the Indian populace has undoubtedly fooled some. It does not change its contents nor detract from the fact that it remains derived from the ancient Roman law to which all lawbooks in the world are beholden, despite the government's claim of decolonisation.

It is deplorable that what stands as the Opposition is only a talk of rules and regulations that have been essentially dead for some time now, as is well demonstrated by the unconditional and untrammelled power wielded by the premiere. Debates within the Parliament are ruled by party or coalition politics and seldom bear any fruit. It has resulted not only from the workings of the ruling party but also from the apathy of the individuals who don't understand or care about the oaths they have promised to honour and only wish to amass power and wealth. Even the elections are only a travesty of what should have been the people's power to control the direction of their lives.

Our form of democracy is based on moral ideals, which evolved from the visions of the freedom fighters who wished to serve their people but, unfortunately, have no place in our country today, as is very visible in the traffic that adorns our roads. The selflessness that characterised the leaders who governed the country immediately after independence is no longer a virtue; only power that obliterates everything else is worshipped. The moral integrity of the ancients is spit upon as politicians refuse to face challenges, either lured by money or scared into submission by power. The democracy we have is only a form of dictatorship that takes voting rights to be enabled into power.

It is paradoxical that accusations of usurpation and unconstitutional impunity only confirm and serve to feed the arrogance that initially created it. Deceptively, any hue or cry raised against such vulgar forms of governance only leads to increased totalitarianism, as would silence.

Such dominance might be attractive to specific sections of the society. The assertion of Hindutva is such a weapon. But eventually, what it seeks is absolute power to do whatever it wants. Examples abound of "democracies" for those who really wish to know the result of such consolidation of power.

In a textbook case of the famous story of boiling the frog in the water, it is horrifying that the citizens fail to realise what is happening to them. The Constitution that empowers them is being stripped off clause by clause and article by article until nothing remains. The experiments done in Kashmir, Manipur and Gujarat, instead of raising the alarm, are being applauded as chivalrous.

Quite opposed to what Mr Modi would have us believe, our country is not moving towards being a superpower. Our current trajectory points to a morally depraved future so repugnant that we will never arise from the abyss unless leaders like those of yore are born.