‘It is time for changes – but only the kind that are necessary for a better India. The Modi government just needs to remember that’
By SUNJOY HANS
Editor-in-Chief
It may be fair to say that the new year has not quite begun on a good note for the Narendra Modi government.
The persisting unrest from last year over the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens in different parts of the country was bad enough – but things took a turn for the worse with the violent attacks early this month at the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus in New Delhi spawning more protests from colleges and universities nationwide.
The sequence of these unfortunate events led to the escalation of what was largely a political battle into an ideological war involving a broader spectrum of the polity and public. The BJP now found itself accused of being not only communal but also autocratic.
The saffron party has been facing similar criticism for a much longer period on the Kashmir issue, especially after the revocation of the Article 370 and the shutdown in the valley that continues until today. The Modi government has been making efforts to convince the world that normalcy is being restored in the conflict-torn region. The recent visit of international envoys to Kashmir was another step towards that goal, but certainly not enough. The Supreme Court’s recent directions to the Jammu and Kashmir administration to restore internet services in the union territory was seen as yet another indication of that reality. Besides, many political observers across the world have been wanting to see how – and whether – the Modi government has started fulfilling the development promises it had made to the people while stripping the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.
Meanwhile, the Delhi elections are around the corner and there is precious little to suggest that the BJP can avenge the embarrassing loss it had suffered at the hands of the Aam Aadmi Party in the previous assembly elections back in 2015.
Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal has kicked off the party’s election campaign, which is neither lacking in style nor in substance. By deciding to fight the upcoming polls on the plank of developmental issues and matters that directly concern the lives of common people, he is in sync with the perceived priorities of people in Delhi. Besides, he not only has a reasonably long list of achievements to show for his five years in power, Kejriwal is also no longer spewing venom at political adversaries and engaging in petty arguments. Having successfully built on his strengths and weeded away his weaknesses, Kejriwal is ensuring that his party will be well-nigh invincible in the coming assembly elections.
The pressure is clearly now on the BJP to save face in the city from where it rules the nation.
But that is nothing in comparison to the pressure and shame that this nation as a whole must have for not having done enough until now to prevent more women from suffering the fate of Nirbhaya. It has been well over seven years since that gruesome incident in New Delhi, but the decision to send the perpetrators to the gallows was made only a few days ago. And yet they even got a chance to file a curative plea before the Supreme Court after that. That old saying, “Justice delayed is justice denied” makes a lot of sense in not only the Nirbhaya case but also thousands of others that may not be receiving the due media attention.
It is time for changes – but only the kind that are necessary for a better India. The Modi government just needs to remember that.
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