The Almighty Allah exhorts in the Qur’an: “Believers! be upholders of justice, and bearers of witness to TRUTH for the sake of God, even though it may be against yourselves or against your parents and kinsmen, or the rich or the poor, for God is more concerned with their wellbeing than you are.” (4:135)
Currently we all find that in our dear country injustice, highhandedness, repression, exploitation and discrimination are steadily increasing. The present government not only turns a blind eye to the demands of common people but uses all methods to suppress those who disagree with it. Almost every section of society especially Dalits, Muslims and other minorities and those who criticise the government’s wrong policies are targeted.
The judiciary instead of interfering is generally looking the other way or keeping silence. Not only retired judges but also the sitting judges of the Supreme Court have criticised the judiciary and its verdicts which go against the spirit of justice and the Constitution. Frustrated people, especially the youth have stood up and are pressing for correction of course. The ruling dispensation is suppressing the protesters with an iron hand. Police force is hand in glove with the ruling party and its supporters. Even goons also are being used by the BJP to target the protesters. The fullest force of law and what is not law is being used against the protesters who are demanding nothing other than fairness, justice and a level playing field for all.
The things have taken such a fearful shape that people are getting frustrated and, in some cases, even resorting to violence, which is being countered by misuse of law with vengeance. The prevailing conditions resemble the reigns of Hitler and Mussolini in Germany and Italy.
We would like to remind our fellow citizens what a German protestant pastor Martin Niemöller had said in the Hitler’s Germany in 1930s: “First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists. I did not speak out, because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was none to speak out for me.”
It is the responsibility of every true Indian, every genuine democrat, every well-wisher of India to stand up, and use all democratic methods and explore all avenues to stem the rot, to stop derailment of democracy, and march towards one party rule, suppression of dissent and closure of all legal and universally accepted avenues of stopping the highhandedness of the Hindutva dispensation, which is intoxicated with power and has captured power through fraudulent methods of disenfranchisement of millions of genuine citizens and use of corrupt tactics by the CEC Gyanesh Kumar. Now his criminal conspiracy is fully exposed.
Legal experts, former judges and even sitting judges of the Supreme Court are coming in open to criticise the acts of commission and omission by some members of judiciary. They are criticising the failure of judiciary to do its duty to protect the spirit of the Constitution and democracy.
It is high time that the whole nation rises like a man to protect democracy in the largest functioning democracy of the world. If we do not stand up and fight, we may fall into the abyss of chaos and darkness from which there will be no escape.