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It is sad to see some people denigrate New India and its newly found Freedom. Since we believe in evidence based arguments, we will support the call for celebration with hard evidence. As a wise scholar once advised, let us start with the difficult question first – what is the state of the Fourth Pillar of Democracy? Perhaps you have not been watching TV news lately. Let me inform you that our Media has never been as Free as it is in New India. In fact it is so Free that most news programs are Free from News. Instead, TV channels are free to conduct debates anchored by journalists who are free from journalistic ethics. They are free to invite anyone to the debate, particularly if these persons are free of expertise and free of decency. They are no longer bound to report both sides of a story, they are free to report only one side and thereby save valuable time of the viewer.
Now let us consider the Third Pillar of Democracy — the Judiciary. As you know, our courts are burdened with a huge backlog of cases, often it takes decades to deliver justice. In New India our citizens are now free to administer justice instantly, though some people are giving it a bad name by calling it lynching. This saves valuable time of the courts. In fact, the courts themselves are actively discouraging frivolous litigation such as habeas corpus pleas and frequent questioning of government decisions. You have perhaps not failed to notice that learned judges have heaped praise on the wisdom and genius of our leaders. We must not forget to give due credit to our law enforcement agencies who are making valuable contributions in their own right. Sedition is something that they do not countenance. They move fast to nip it in the bud, or even before it can become a bud, as you may have noticed in the case of that stand-up comic. They have given a New meaning to Newton’s Law by placing reaction before action. However, they value freedom of speech and freedom of action. Students are free to take action against other students, as happened on a university campus. None has dared to challenge their freedom to come to the campus with clubs and hockey sticks. After all, universities are the cradle of Democracy where tomorrow’s leaders are nurtured. Citizens are free to speak without fear, specially if they are calling for shooting anti-nationals.
Instead, TV channels are free to conduct debates anchored by journalists who are free from journalistic ethics. They are free to invite anyone to the debate, particularly if these persons are free of expertise and free of decency. They are no longer bound to report both sides of a story, they are free to report only one side and thereby save valuable time of the viewer.
As the world’s largest Democracy, our Parliament is a revered institution. But unfortunately, it was spending a lot of time in debate and discussion rather than legislating. You must have noticed the speed with which laws have been passed of late, without the delays earlier caused by voting. Our parliament has shown the same alacrity in withdrawing laws also, proving that our New legislative process is very fair. Our state legislatures are also doing their bit to promote freedom. Several states have passed amendments to the Freedom of Religion Act, empowering concerned citizens to act to protect the freedom of members of the depressed classes to practice their ancient professions without misleading and subversive ideas that undermine the very foundation of our society. Our young women’s freedom to follow their parents’ and their khap panchayat’s guidance will also now be protected by these empowered citizens. Our concern for minorities is something that is not always appreciated but we must persevere nevertheless. In New India, minorities will have equal representation as the majority community. In keeping with this noble objective, the Delimitation Commission has recommended that minority Jammu will have almost the same number of representatives as majority Kashmir. India is not a pioneer in this enlightened thinking, but we are quick to learn from the oldest democracy where an empowering mechanism, called Gerrymandering, has been practiced for more than a century.
And finally the highest pillar of our Democracy — The Executive. Freedom is the guiding light of our administration, freedom from the restrictive confines of tradition and precedent. Senior journalists, judges and Election Commissioners are provided free software to enable them to be in constant touch with Intelligence to help them take intelligent decisions. There is a proposal to provide a similar facility to all citizens through Aadhar, it will free them from having to remember their voting choices and financial transactions. The ultimate objective remains to give citizens complete Freedom from Facts — a Factmukt Bharat.
