#SplitOpinion Rajesh Soundararajan

Happy 74th independence day India - reminiscing through a review and looking for the road ahead. This is a short broadcast address created to look behind the 70 years as a nation and what we have to look for as we move ahead in the 2020.

Seventy-four years on, we have come a long way. An amusing and arduous journey indeed. Today is a moment to pause and to reflect on the journey so far, its triumphs and travails. Through the seven decades, at times, we inched ahead with tepidity, and at other times we marched with caution, and yet there were times we galloped with bravado. We had our share of strife, struggles and success, as we trudged along, to reach where we are today. The path had its share of twists and turns, due to domestic and international political climate, due to natural factors as well as due to the mood of its citizens of that period.

The way forward
As we celebrate independence in 2020, the needle has moved, a new generation is hungry for bigger action. The recent generation may have seldom heard or may have forgotten the journey of travails of their 74-year-old but the challenges in front of them today are uniquely similar. This is a new-independence movement of sorts.

We may be connected to the world 1 GBps data connections, 48 mega-pixel flashy camera phones. Our fellow Indians could be CEOs of the world’s largest companies. But we must not forget our beginnings and our journey.


Our grandparents and parents walked miles and to attend school. 74 years later, millions do not have even have access to school or affordable, high-quality education.
The mortality rate in pre-independent India was extremely high due to the lack of adequate heath. 74 years later, thousands die each day unable to get the timely or affordable hath care. The society is divided on the case and social and religious lines.
The later part colonial rule started showing fractures with corruption across. Today corruption has plagued the society so much that not just citizens, but our elected representatives are traded for a few hundred crores each, making a mockery of the entire election process and thus the foundations of the democracy.
The British did not hold any elections and imposed their views without citizen participation. Today, seven decades of elections are manipulated and rigged through non-transparent electoral funding and the crores required to get a ticket.
Barring few, there was no free media during the British Raj. 74 years the compromise on our media is 100% complete and possibly at a point of no return.
A fair judiciary for the c’mon people did not exist in the colonial days. Today 70 years later, our judiciary is corrupt to the bone and has become a mouthpiece of the rich and powerful; The poor must wait a lifetime to get justice.
The future is left to us again. We are witnessing a generational shift. The institutions of repute are being compromised. We seem to be blinded by nationalism and disdain of the past.

A change is essential to recognize ourselves as freedom fighters of 2020. We must absorb the good of what our ancestors stood for – their determination and grit. We must not allow the same mistakes to happen again. A British rule must not be replaced by an equally overbearing elected government under the garb of democracy. And we cannot keep glossing over the past without a vision of the future, we will be responsible for what happens in the future—we and no one else to blame, not us.

Freedom was not born at midnight on August 15, 1947. It was preceded with of profound struggle to be free as a nation. It was an untiring effort of freedom fighters. Today 74 years later, despite all the success we are at a stage in history, where we are not watchful of the reasons for freedom. We are frittering away our hard-fought freedom.

This episode focuses on the recent controversy about ‘Fair and Lovely’ skin creams, that apparently helps in whitening the skin and making people look “beautiful“. Unilever, the manufacturer, has already claimed that it would remove the word ‘Fair from its ‘Fair and Lovely’ branding and is looking at making more inclusive in of brand representation across segments. However, the critics, are continuing to ask for the complete removal of the cream from the markets and is seeking a ban of fairness creams. How valid is their argument? Is Unilever right in continuing to perpetrate skin-colour based marketing? Listen in.

This episode focuses on the #righttolearn and how the Karnataka government fumbled in its policy of banning online education. It addresses the two key issues and why it fails the test of logic.

This podcast how Authoritarian Regimes Amplify control in times of crisis is intended to awaken the citizens across nations to look for signs of fascism and authoritarianism that might be creeping into their democracy under the garb of COVID-19 and restrictions being imposed.

What would authoritarian regimes do in case of a crisis?

Logically the first step for an authoritarian regime is to magnify the crisis and use that fear to take higher control. The higher the odds they create to the odds of spread and survival create a sense of fear, the more authority its people collectively are willing to give the regime the control key to protect them. The uncertainty and an unseen enemy are a big bonus.

The administration then takes control of all dissemination of news and information is provided, closing any alternative validation mechanisms covertly and overtly.’ The guidance (curbs) to media starts and information is fed to you as bulletins. The mainstream media conducts ‘panel’ discussions where fright and panic are perpetuated morphed as readiness and preparedness.

With the constant onslaught of crisis led news 24×7, over talks on all channels, print, television, and social media, the citizen’s mind is controlled to think of crisis and only the crisis with a yearning for directions from the government at every step. Anyone not following the direction is dealt with firmly with an iron hand, and this imagery is again publicist through the complaint media. There may even be police atrocities and judicial overreach, but those are given a stamp of approval with silence.

These actions create more fear, and the government warns of harsher punishments. And the cycle repeats. The complete media control, magnification of the crime, and suppression of civil liberties make such ‘disciplinary actions’ seem necessary for ‘larger good.’ More people support harsher penalties and fear retribution when they oppose such punishments.

By controlling and manipulating the fear psychosis of its citizens while building a feeling of unitedness to a cause of survival, together, the concoction is lethal. Any harsher punishments get more support from a society, which has learned to be obedient. Lavish praise for the Big Brother and reticence to atrocities the new normal, lest they are retributed by the society ort be turned into ‘moral police, and informers to authorities. It may even include neighbours and Resident Welfare Associations.

The administration tests its control often, with small actions, restrictions and the like that are validated with ‘call to action’ inviting voluntary citizen participation. The ‘nationalistic press’ asks leading questions like “are you okay with increased sanctions and curtailing freedoms in times of crisis like this” for the greater good. With affirmative answers, the increase in the intensity and duration of such authoritarianism continues the cycle. No one person or group questions the extended restrictions anymore. They will continue with more restrictions on the internet, movements, and they know people will support all these wholeheartedly for the ‘greater’ good. The Big Brother becomes their God.

Over time, consistently and carefully, the authoritarian regime alters thoughts of its people with repeated fudging of numbers and information passed on to its citizens. And the indoctrination is complete. So much so the citizens do not even see that regime as authoritarians while the ones outside the society can see the obvious. Examples include North Korea, Iraq, under Saddam, or Libya.

All authoritarian regimes use any crisis to amplify control. And they do it each time. Coronavirus is just another great opportunity not to let go.

Of Student Protests, Right-Wing Nationalism & An Orwellian Society

The youth in any nation is her strength and her future. And by supporting the youth, generations across the world can and have strengthened their own country, fine-tuned their own democracies, and furthered their freedoms for a better future.

Today, in India, however, a large section citizen is not just turning their back to youth but supporting the use of oppressive force against them. This is indeed a peculiar situation, for, with such a stand, the citizens are voluntarily and swiftly eroding their rights and personal freedoms enshrined in the Constitution. It is for these freedoms that millions have fought for over centuries and thus gained it from the British. This is the same democracy and freedoms that we protected with care and nurtured for 70 years.

Against this background, what have we come to? How else can one not see this denigration of another student protest (#JNU) for something as simple as the reduction in fees being termed as anti-national?

Do we have solutions? Have we lost our collective conscience as a nation? Is the brainwashing complete?