THE NEW INDIA IS SLOWLY VOTING FOR THE FAR RIGHT. HISTORY HAS SHOWN US TIME & TIME AGAIN HOW THIS HAS PANNED OUT. HERE'S AN UNBIASED TAKE ON THE SITUATION.
Being an Indian, this is going to be a painful process of assessing the deteriorating freedom in my own nation. Nonetheless, let's look at the FACTS.
PARTY VS WELFARE
Under the current regime, the state v/s centre turmoil has been exacerbated to a great extent. States under opposition government have received preferential treatment in terms of tax allocation, river water sharing, central grants and even welfare policies, For instance, when Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal planned to roll out a doorstep delivery scheme of ration directly to the poor, the Central Government termed the scheme as "non-permissible".
This is not the first instance of such treatment as well. In 2019, another controversy related to the allocation of food-related funds surfaced. This may serve the party's interests but it is the people who have suffered the most due to increasing red-tapism & factional politics.
DEFECTION AFTER ELECTION
After keenly following current events for a while, I noticed a disturbing trend in Indian politics. After every state assembly election result, elected MLAs would blatantly change their party & defect to an opposing faction! It seems like in today's India, even loyalty & people's trust has a price. Now, this phenomenon is not restricted to a certain party. All the mainstream & regional level parties, be it the INC, BJP, AIADMK, Akali Dal, RJD, BSP, TMC, TDP or AAP have participated in such shenanigans. Such horse trading of elected representatives has made electoral mandates a joke. The impact of defections has been so immense that they have changed the ruling party in 5 states in the last 6 years: Karnataka, Rajasthan, Manipur, Goa & Madhya Pradesh. Admittedly, this problem has been corrupting the Indian political system since 1967. All governments in power have been aware of how rudderless & redundant the current anti-defection law is. Nonetheless, personal agenda has stopped all governments from taking any corrective action. It is important to note that a total of 357 MLAs have defected between 2016-2020.
BLURRING LINES BETWEEN JUDICIARY & LEGISLATURE
The recent news of the former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi being instated as a member of Rajya Sabha personally had a deep impact on me. What makes this story more interesting are certain "landmark" judgements the former CJI passed. in the Rafale case, the Ayodhya Mandir controversy and the Assam NRC bill. By no way am I referring to any foul play. I am in no position to judge that nor have I adequate information, I only wish to enlighten you, the reader towards this historic development.
ON THE OTHER SIDE
Enough focus on the negatives. All is not so bleak in India. There are still signs of life in this weakening heart!
The ruling parties have always respected the outcome of every election (barring the mandatory "EV Machine fraud" accusation after every defeat).
The populace is aware of their own rights. 200 years of imperial repression have made sure of that.
Protests are allowed and frequent. Believe it or not, protests are the ultimate signal of a thriving democracy. The ongoing farmers' protest & CAA-NRC protests of 2019 are a testament to the same (irrespective of your stance in the matter).
The army has shied away from politics. The situation in Myanmar & Pakistan (where no PM has completed a 5-year tenure so far) throws light on how messy things can get if the army is involved.
Elections held are free & fair. The Election Commission should be lauded for their error prone efforts.
The bureaucracy is fairly independent & is usually under little to marginal political pressure. This bodes well for the proper implementation & execution of plans.
I hope my report was unbiased & free from stereotypes, unlike western agency reports which usually dwell on the negatives & magnify them to paint a horrendous one-sided picture. The only reason for writing this was to enlighten the reader about what's happening around.
Jai Hind.