EDITOR’S NOTE: We live in kakistocracy. Democracy only exists in our constitution. In political science, democratic backsliding, also known as democratic erosion or de-democratization, is a gradual decline in the quality of democracy. This decline is caused by the state-led weakening of political institutions that sustain the democratic system.
On Wednesday 9th Sep, 2020, thousands of Academics and human rights activists expressed their discontent with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for arresting eminent academic thinkers and activists in relation to the Bhima Koregaon case.
The origins of this case lie in the violence that erupted on 1st January 2018 after the 200th anniversary celebrations of the said victory of “Battle of Bhima Koregaon” in which the Peshwas were defeated by the then untouchables fighting on the same side as the British.
As a result of the violence that broke after the celebrations, one person had died and heavy casualties were reported.
Several activists, lawyers, journalists and academics have since been arrested in connection to their alleged role in inciting this violence.
Under the very controversial, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), as many as fourteen academics, teachers and lawyers, presumably innocent, have been arrested. As a result of these arrests, universities across India and academic institutions abroad, issued a statement expressing their deep concern over “shrinking democratic space in the country.”
The statement said,
“Most of the individuals who have been taken into custody were not even present at the Elgar Parishad event. So, it is very unlikely that the government will secure a conviction in this case.”
The statement continues,
“The NIA’s claims of investigating the ‘conspiracy’ in the Elgaar-Parishad case are actually a flimsy cover for cracking down on “urban naxals” —who, in reality, are only dissident intellectuals—and keeping them in prison indefinitely.”
Criticising the use of anti-terror laws, the statement further alleged that the NIA has prevented those arrested from obtaining bail.
This statement, by dissenting intellectuals was signed by over a thousand teachers from the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), Delhi University and various other universities of USA, United Kingdom and Ireland.
A senior journalist, K.V. Kurmanath has been summoned for questioning. A teacher in Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research-Kolkata, Partho Sarathi Ray awaits the same fate. The statement highlighted Ray’s “deep involvement” in social causes during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is fearing uncertainty amongst the academics that Ray could even get arrested on false charges as he has been a fierce critic of government’s response to the pandemic.
Three cultural activists from the Kabir Kala Manch, the organisers of the Elgar Parishad event, were arrested by the NIA on Tuesday. Also summoned for questioning was K. Satyanarayana, a lecturer from the English and Foreign Languages department in Hyderabad University.
On July 28, a popular anti-caste activist, M.T. Hany Babu, also a lecturer from the department of English in Delhi University, was arrested in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case.
Rakesh Ranjan and Prem Kumar Vijayan, both teachers in Delhi University were called for questioning by the NIA in August. Sudha Bharadwaj, a teacher in National Law University, Delhi, Dr Anand Teltumbde, professor in Goa Institute of Management and Shoma Sen, a teacher in Nagpur University have also been taken into custody.
The statement demanded the end of “crackdown on dissidents.” If this demand is ignored, that surely could mean “the beginning of the end of democracy.”
AUTHOR: Ānanda Bashu
