The world’s largest democracy - India - is now under scanner in maintaining its democratic character, a population of more than 1.3 billion is heading to the polls. 

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The vote will decide not only the composition of the next government, but also the character of the Indian nation. The constitution’s rights provisions, however, are breached with alarming regularity and impunity. Of these, civil and political rights are easily among the most abused provisions. The constitution protects against discrimination on the basis of caste, language, religion, and gender. The fringe groups often chip away at freedom of speech

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As India descended into anti-Pakistan sentiment, the many failures of the BJP government were conveniently swept under the carpet. 

 

• The promises for economic development and vigorous job creation never materialised in the past five years. 

 

• Failed to enforce economic changes to improve the lot of the majority of Indians and lift their standard of living.

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• Farmers marched barefoot in the national capital to remind the country of the rural and agrarian distress. 

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• The ill-conceived and executed demonetization programme does not find a mention as an achievement in the party's election manifesto.

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• The job situation in India has gone from bad to worse. A report by the National Sample Survey Office leaked in February revealed that unemployment in India is at 6.1 percent - the highest it has been in 45 years.

 

• Some of the most powerful institutions of the country have been undermined and hijacked.

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• Mob lynching and killing in the  name of religion and cow protection has become a new normal in India.

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• The criminals and killers are on bail doing the promotional rallies for their bosses.

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• India's civil liberties have also taken a hit. Minorities have increasingly become the target of mob violence. 

 

• Hate speech has been normalised, while human rights activism has been increasingly suffocated and at times even criminalised.

 

• Critical voices have been languishing behind bars. 

 

• We have become a nation that increasingly chooses to stigmatise its own citizens on the basis of caste, religion, and economic status in clear violation of the basic tenants of the Indian constitution.

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• Pressure on mainstream media has increased and many prominent editors and journalists have had to leave the newsrooms of major outlets. 

 

• Our history is being re-written, re-imagined to build the Hindu-nationalist narrative as the redeeming idea for the country.

 

• We are becoming a nation of resentful hearts, small minds and constricted souls. There is something happening to our democracy which is mutilating the democratic soul. 

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• A great anguish over the unjustifiable delay in the investigations into the heinous rape and murder of  minor girls and women across the country are on rise. Sexual & street harassment, domestic violence, lack of safety & security at work places, Inequality in gender pay, negligible parliamentary representation and the list goes on. Despite of powerful laws that our constitution has provided, the Government is failing to implement on grounds.

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• We are equally concerned over the excessive politicization and communalization of incidents and by the brazen manner in which ultra-nationalistic discourse is being used to counter the campaigns for justice and shield the culprits; instead of punishing them.

 

India is at a critical juncture in its history.  The 2019 election is not about Narendra Modi and the BJP, the Congress or any other opposition party - it is about the character of this nation and the preservation of its democratic and pluralistic foundations. 

This election will indeed be a battle for India's soul. 

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Increasing poverty, environmental degradation, crime and corruption are plaguing the society. Key institutions in India such as the judiciary, security agencies and EC have not been able to 'withstand' government pressure tactics. No doubt, the potential danger to Indian democracy and minority rights has never been so serious in the past seven decades of India’s democratic experiment. But in the long years ahead, it will depend almost entirely on the collective will of the people, and on how they choose to square long-held tensions with democratic principles.