At no point in history other than the India Independence Movement has a protest that started at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar managed to reach every corner of this country. Although it took some time to arrive in the North Eastern states of Meghalaya, Mizoram and even Arunachal Pradesh a BJP-ruled state, it did take off. Manipur is facing its own set of internal crises; hence, a united protest even on a matter as crucial as the leak of the NEET question papers, the subsequent student suicides, and the bungling over the CBSE paper corrections, has been subsumed under their own ethnic fights and assertions. Tripura and Assam both BJP-ruled states have also not risen to the occasion. It is amusing to note just how tightly controlled the BJP-ruled states are. Delhi is a good example of a central Government unleashing violence on the peaceful protesters at Jantar Mantar. In Nagaland too there is a stunning silence!
In Meghalaya there were protests at two different sites on July 23: one at Police Point and the other at Police Bazar. It’s ironic how both places are prefixed by the word “Police,” and yet there was no intimidating police presence near the crowd. At Police Point several kids were holding placards with all the seriousness at their command. This is how democracy should be. Police are meant to tackle adverse elements not peaceful protestors but that is what the Delhi Police have been told to do – to prevent peaceful protestors from reaching Sansad Marg the heart of India’s democracy. The BJP Government has tried since assuming office to pulverize people’s voices and prevent any public movement. The Farmers’ Protest was crushed through the use of force. Much of what happened was disseminated to the people of this country and the globe not by the mainstream media but by journalists who are struggling to make ends meet but have stuck to their principles. India continues to experience some semblance of democracy because of such journalists, many of whom were arrested while on duty and spent jail time. Never before has this country suffered such a depletion of rights.
After seeing the spontaneous public response to the call of the Cockroach Janta Party and the massive gatherings that have gathered momentum in every part of the country, the Prime Minister decided to give a speech over Instagram stating that the Government has responded by activating fast-track courts to deal with the crime and that the criminals involved in the NEET paper leak were in jail. This is not what the public demands. The public want the Education Minister to take personal responsibility for the NEET paper leak and its aftermath – the suicide of at least 20 students. The Modi Government is adamant in its stance that ministers cannot be held responsible for what happens under their watch which is a far cry from what happened under previous governments when a railway minister resigned after a train tragedy. These days ministers operate without accountability, thereby violating the basic tenets of democratic governance. Now the protestors are asking the Prime Minister to hold a press conference where he can be asked all uncomfortable questions. It is unheard of that a Prime Minister who is accountable to the people is unwilling to answer questions to the media. Instead, the Government has co-opted large sections of the media now referred to as Godi media to become its public relations machinery. This is the problem with India under the Modi-led NDA regime.
