Crisis of Democracy: India need institutional autonomy to protect and strengthen democracy
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat The poll outcome in five states have gladdened many and disappointing others with BJP’s extremely impressive performance but it is also a complete failure of the opposition parties particularly Congress and BSP. The results have also exposed the embedded media. It is not merely Modi Bhaktas but there is a ‘big’ anti-Modi anti-Yogi industry which gained enormously since 2014. After the demise of ‘media’, the so-called alternative media too came from those segments of ‘professionals’ who were part of what is termed as ‘Godi’ Media or ‘Darbari media’. The popularity of these ‘alternative’ portals went extremely high. Individuals became ‘Nayaks’ and Kisan Andolan ‘strengthened’ it further when ‘journalists’ became spokespersons of ‘anti-Modi’ or in Uttar Pradesh anti-Yogi narrative. Their monologues were often full of misinterpretations yet in the current trends, it does not matter what you write or how qualitative and objective you are, like Godi media, the ‘alternative’ too thrived on falsification of news and complete disconnect from reality. Those claiming ‘alternative media’ were neither alternative nor analytical but more a party, perhaps setting news ‘agenda’ for the political sponsors. They attended political rallies, spoke to ‘bhakts’ and made us ‘feel good’ that BJP has become ‘unwanted’. The Kisan Andolan, the anti CAA Protests were legitimate movements and protests but cannot be projected as ‘alternative’ political parties to BJP. Movements and their Crisis An analysis of the politically ‘apolitical’ social movement can give you an understanding that most of them have ended up in helping the ‘Sangh Parivar’ and its ‘idea of India’. The longer these ‘movements’ are pushed, the better for the BJP to exploit the inherent contradictions of society. The fault line of the political analysts and ‘social scientists’ is in their portrayal of a ‘progressive’ movement but the facts are they were more due to political marginalisation of the communities. Anna Hazare-Arvind Kejriwal’s anti-corruption movement actually emerged after Congress-led UPA won its second term in Lok Sabha in 2009. The movement in the name of ‘anti-corruption’ was led by the Savarna forces who felt that Congress was marginalising the ‘upper castes. The…