People are the greatest safeguard, eyes and ears of a democratic system and are effective instrument of participatory and accountable government and responsive governance. Hence it need not be over emphasized that civil society is an integral part of the voice and choice of the people and is meant to play a critical role in that process.
However, at the same time, it needs to be underlined that the civil society also has to be responsible and responsive on their part while engaging in the oppositional role whenever it becomes necessary. In the name of the civil society, the people have no right to create social and political cleavages or to deepen the existing cleavages in the name of raising transgressions on the rights of the vulnerable people. It can be noticed that most often than not the protests or marches or ‘award wapsi’ festivals are organized in a partisan manner or at least this is the impression one gets at the behavior of the civil society activists.
Are the civil society activists playing partisan politics in India today? They become the conscience keepers at the time of stray incidents of killing in one or the other part of the country portraying as if it is the most significant feature of our national behaviour. They are trying to paint India with that colourboth to defame and discredit RSS and Prime Minister NarendraModiwhom they are unable tomatch with reference to his charisma or his rising legitimacy and popularity on issues of policy delivery and governance.
This has been established almost regularly at the elections after elections from local to the Assembly level. So change of strategy; raise some issues, not in the name of the political opposition, but in the name of the civil society terming the mobilisers as eminent academicians, lawyers, doctors, artists and so on, that have the potential of alienating one people from the other. They now want to establish a discourse where everything would seem topsy-turvy, unjust and discriminatory. It is here that the civil society appears to be neither civil nor social.
However, let it be clear thatit is no body’s argument that the cases of police failure to effectively control law and order without bias or prejudice or apathy to the issues of mob killing of innocent people should not be highlighted or pressure should not be created to establish rule of law bringing everyone to justice. That the civil society must do and urge the government to take speedy action in that regard is beyond contest. But to paint India as intolerant country and society or to bring social segments of one or the other hue face to face would do greater harm than good particularly in a plural and socially and politically diverse environment.
Their actions like award wapsi, or not-in-my name drama throughout the country in the name of the victims or their support to the students in the JNU crying for the dismemberment of India in the name of freedom of speech and expression and such like activities would create or strengthen the social divide and may, god forbid,be counterproductive. Is this not the time for the civil society to be constructive and creative?
Will these protests/marches/rallies not hurt the national interests? Would they not weaken the cause of harmonious living of people together and demoralize the society? The civil society engaged in anti Modior anti RSS fairsin the name of justice may gain some lost ground in terms of votes for their masters in politics, that may not be certain, but at what cost?
That Democracy has its own narratives and also its own correctives is what is to be understood by the government, the opposition and also the civil society. India is changing, economically, politically, culturally and people cannot be taken for granted anymore. Very recently this fact has been brought to the fore when the entire “class of the eminent” and the political opposition to the NDA lost on the issues of communalism, nationalism and also on Note Bandi(demonetization).
Again the tirade against the suppression of the freedom of the press did not prove to be of any effect. The civil society would do well to serve the nation and her people if they come out with a well-researched criticism of the shortfalls of the government on the issues of good governance. The NDA government is busy in giving its midterm appraisal report to tell the nation as to what difference it has made or is trying to make in the economic, social and cultural arena and how it is certain of the future aspirational and inspirational India, the confident youth determined to shape a dynamic, vibrant India that is given a place of pride in the global community.
It is a common knowledge that there are provocations for the ‘kisan’ groups in the BJP or NDA ruled states to demand for farm loan waivers. Here also, they are interested in creating bitterness and distrust. Every right thinking citizen of the country would agree that loan waiving is not the solution of the problems faced by the farmers. The long term solution is the cultural and attitudinal change at that level. The loan taken for the agricultural purpose should not be used to meet the social obligations.
Public pressure should be built for the appropriate and remunerative prices for agricultural produce, reduction in the numbers of the middlemen, organization of kisan marketing cooperatives at the local level and for providing adequate warehouses. It would be worthwhile to get subsidy in their accounts directly. But the civil society would not bother for these issues.
The kisans, if killed in the process of maintaining law and order, become the subject of agitation both on the streets and within the four walls of the media notwithstanding the call of the event on the spot. Again, I would vote for the maximum restraint on the part of the peace and order keeping agencies and that resorting to firing should be only exceptional, but the mob engaged in the burning of public property or attempting to attack the innocent civilians may not leave any other option but to open fire.
In the end, the defenders of democracy and human rights must differentiate between the social and political cause they seek to serve while initiating an action. That civil society and the state are adversaries is an old theory. Let us be modern in our outlook and action.
(The writer is Senior Consultant, IGNOU, New Delhi)