Voice of dissent can never be tolerated in a democracy

Voice of dissent can never be tolerated in a democracy. Confused? Believe it or not, this is the reality in India. You cannot talk to Medha Patkar and then live in Gujarat because she has fought for some ‘unwanted tribal’ depriving the enterprising people of Gujarat the most precious water from Narmada. You cannot voice your opinion against the large scale industrial loot in the name of economical growth because it will deter foreign investors from coming to India. 


You should be as superman to read any piece by Arundhati Roy because she is a right wing labeled left wing terrorist. You cannot enjoy M F Hussain art because his drawing had hurt somebody somewhere and no one remembers who these people are. You cannot say anything against the religious tourism subsidy being doled out for no reasons to a particular community because it will have major repercussions including cold blooded murder. You cannot object to the actions of a particular chief minister of a state for his role in a sectarian violence because a decade has passed and it is time to forget and forgive and also because he is the darling of masses and a prime ministerial candidate. 


There are other exceptions too. You cannot offer a rose to your lover because a particular Sene has objection. You have to put the local language on your shop because a particular party doesn’t understand Hindi or likes Hindi speaking people. Anti-Hindi south Indian parties indulge in similar but more dramatic activities down south. January 1 is not your new year because there are parties around the globe. Inter religious relation and dialogues have become the biggest taboo. Dating and courting is out question and same sex relations cant even be a thought process.


The biggest of all these is the Kashmir issue. Because it is not debated well, no one knows what the issue is especially the youths. What they know is a piece of land under Indian occupation which is being snatched forcibly by Pakistan. Beyond this even those who hit Prashant Bhushan may not know.


In the process of curtailing freedom of expression, we have curtailed the knowledge acquisition process of an entire generation. No youths want to know or debate any controversial issue because it will label them as right wing or left wing or pseudo secular or a terrorist. Universities and colleges have stopped open debates because it could turn into ugly war. Friends from different religion and caste is a thing of past. Many Hindu youths studying in posh schools have never met a Muslim in their entire life and vice versa with Muslim students.


Where is this leading us to? Make no mistake, we are going to face anarchy – in true Rajnikant style.


And still we castigate our doubts over Saudi Arabia, Iran and other so called conservative countries? At least they accept what they are doing. We don’t.