It seems the Indian democracy is undergoing a process of self-examination.
According to reports, about 60 supporters of Baba Ramdev were injured while the police was trying to evict the Baba and his supporters from the Ramlila ground where he was to launch a hunger-strike against corruption and black money, with his emphatic requirement that the Central Government must take appropriate steps to repatriate black money stashed away in foreign accounts.
There were dialogues going on between him and the government on this issue, and by last Saturday it seemed that there was agreement between the two sides on the issue. The next report was that the Baba was evicted from his protest venue in New Delhi and flown to the nearby airport to his Ashram and from there taken by road to his Ashram.
The media, print as well as electronic, got busy in running ‘BREAKING NEWS’ and conducting reviews and interviews on the questions involved. Most of the political parties and NGOs were of the opinion that the government has infringed upon the democratic rights of the Baba and his followers. It is rightly so, because nothing undemocratic was being conducted at the venue.
The reactions after the incident included politically motivated mudslinging, and the sane voices were feeble.
Now that The National Human Rights Commission has issued notices to the Central Government and the Delhi Government directing them to submit their reports on the crackdown on Baba Ramdev and his supporters, the issue gets more serious as the commission has taken notice of something of the nature of human rights violation.
Additionally, there are reports that The Supreme Court of India has also issued a notice to the government on the eviction of the Baba from the hunger-strike venue, after taking suo moto cognizance of the incident on its own.
The government may have its own reasons for its actions, but a majority of others, including those who oppose Baba Ramdev, feel that democratic rights should not be suppressed.
I am not a supporter of the Baba, or any other faction. But I do feel that corruption and black money are the biggest enemies of all the right-thinking Indians. So, it has to be wiped out from all levels of governance and public life, when only India can be said to be a true democracy.
