I usually stay away from commenting about the goings on in the old country. Because, more often than not, it is simply heartbreaking even to read about the news about India!
This morning, I woke up to the news about a dam break in the northern part of India, after "part of a Himalayan glacier broke off, triggering an avalanche of rock, mud, water and debris that swept away a hydroelectric dam."
It was a disaster that was bound to happen: "Environmentalists have long cautioned against building dams and power plants there, because it's so prone to landslides and flooding."
A terrible tragedy.
I hope that people will India will think more about how much we – and our economies – are ‘embedded’ within Nature, not external to it. If only the religious in India too can be motivated to do something about the natural environment.
But, I want to first catch up on an older issue. It is about how the authoritarian government is tightening its chokehold on the country.
In response to the growing farmers protests, the artist Rihanna tweeted:
why aren’t we talking about this?! #FarmersProtest https://t.co/obmIlXhK9S
— Rihanna (@rihanna) February 2, 2021
Rihanna has a following. Nearly 102 million!
So, of course, the fanatics in India burned her effigy.
The teen activist icon Greta Thunberg tweeted about the protest. So, of course, the fanatics in India burned her effigy.
Meena Harris tweeted:
Weird to see a photo of yourself burned by an extremist mob but imagine what they would do if we lived in India. I'll tell you—23 yo labor rights activist Nodeep Kaur was arrested, tortured & sexually assaulted in police custody. She's been detained without bail for over 20 days. pic.twitter.com/Ypt2h1hWJz
— Meena Harris (@meenaharris) February 5, 2021
In case any academic decided to write or talk about these issues, the Indian government was ready for them:
In a new restriction on academic freedom at the country’s publicly-funded universities, professors and administrators will now have to get prior approval from the ministry of external affairs (MEA) if they want to hold online international conferences or seminars that are centred around issues relating to the security of the Indian state or which are “clearly related to India’s internal matters”.
The latter phrase is so broad as to include virtually every topic of interest to academics. The farmers’ protest relates to ‘India’s internal matters” as does the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, or caste issues or even the pros and cons of demonetisation.
In addition, the names of all participants in such seminars will have to be approved in advance by the government.
Am I shocked? Not one bit.
This is what anti-democratic forces do. This is why I have been blogging against the current prime minister and his toadies forever.
I am not at all shocked. I am terribly sad though that my old country has been reduced to such a pathetic state of affairs.
What can one do besides issuing statements that won't have any influence on "the strong man"?
Why aren't we talking about all these?
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