For Quick Alerts
ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS  
For Daily Alerts
Oneindia App Download

Is India a mobocracy? Individual liberty doesn't matter here

By Shubham
|
Google Oneindia News
<ul id="pagination-digg"><li class="previous"><a href="/feature/2012/poor-press-freedom-shows-darker-shades-of-our-democracy-1102849.html">« Previous</a>

Since our political democracy is a model that rewards communities more than individuals, we have seen how the Indian polity has gradually witnessed the emergence of an evil rivalry among communities and sects at the grassroot level. Individuals don't really matter in our system because they are mostly unable to act like sound and informed citizens to know what is right or wrong for themselves or the society. These ill-informed minds easily fall prey to power centres that take advantage of the brittleness of the electorate of the largest democracy on earth in the name of religion, regionalism, caste, economic identity and other divisive means.

shaheen-dhada


No ideology works in India's political democracy today
for the inherent link that the society has with the polity does not touch ideals like democracy, liberty and equality. It is no surprise that a country that has not witnessed inclusive development at the grassroot levels since its birth will be easily hijacked by unscruplous people pretending to be true popular leaders.

The post-Nehru Congress, which was more an opportunist hegemon rather than a democratic platform, created its own populist adversaries in every corner of the country except perhaps the northeast and once the hegemon began to crumble, these smaller adversaries found no problem in setting up their respective spheres of influence. Mass mobilisation by these forces based on some or the other symbolism in their own backyard has not only divided India more, but also has alarmingly reduced the space for individual liberty because for them, the physical power of the community (or rather mob) is an easier way to keep close to the local power structure. A few individuals not adhering to their views don't matter.

Advent of technology has made the individual-community clash inevitable

The unavoidable opening of the closed Indian society and its mindset in the age of the booming media has left a serious repercussion. The media, today, more aggressive and effective than ever before, does not really by any idealistic mantra nor is it afraid. The media and particularly its young handlers doesn't really care about the well-being of the traditional socio-political complexes that prefer more of a status quo. A clash between what Thomas Friedman termed as 'The Lexus' and the 'Olive Tree' seems inevitable soon.

The recent incidents where a professor and two girls were arrested in West Bengal and Maharashtra, respectively, for they used a social networking media to express their minds that did not support the power centres and their loyalists. The latter used or influenced the state power to retaliate. In September, a young cartoonist was held on charges of sedition for anti-corruption drawings.

In October, a businessman was arrested for he had tweeted against Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram's son Karthi. Social media is a means to express one's thought and feelings and build a network of relationship with other members of the society.

In India, this medium is turning into a menace for we are yet to learn to shape a space for individual liberty. The individual space comes into a direct conflict with the vested interests in this country also because the buffer territory in the form of civil society is yet not well-drawn one.

By civil society, Indians still refer to either pro-establishment and divisive elements who are actually extension of the vested interests or the indifferent sections only bothered about their own well-being. Incidents like the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks have tightened Internet vigilance in this country all the more, hence sacrificing individual liberty at the altar of democracy!

Where do we go from here?

The road as far as individual liberty is concerned will only get narrower in India. The country lacks real development on the ground so much so that ultimately it is some kind of identity/symbolic politics that work as a hopeless hope for the struggling millions even if it pretends to work for their betterment. The chaos and disorder that emanate from the divisive politics on ground will never allow any inclusive progress in India, forget upholding noble ideals like individual liberty and equality. We have allowed ourselves to get hijacked by the agents of unlimited democracy and can only hope that some divine intervention improves our PFI rankings.

<ul id="pagination-digg"><li class="previous"><a href="/feature/2012/poor-press-freedom-shows-darker-shades-of-our-democracy-1102849.html">« Previous</a>
For Daily Alerts
Get Instant News Updates
Enable
x
Notification Settings X
Time Settings
Done
Clear Notification X
Do you want to clear all the notifications from your inbox?
Settings X
X