Experts warn of eroding democratic values over the last 10 years

Economists and social activists gathered under the banner ‘Samvidhanada Hadiyalli’ in the city on Friday to dissect the Union government’s work over the past decade.

Salil Shetty, former head of Amnesty International, commented that the ruling party’s deep penetration across all sectors works against the realisation of the Constitution of India, eroding the pillars of liberty, equality, fraternity, and justice. ‘The last ten years have been the period in India’s history where income inequality has risen the most. We are now one of the most unequal countries in the world,’ he stated.

Author Aakar Patel criticised the current elections as neither free nor fair. ‘No election where two or three ministers are in jail can be considered free or fair, and this one is not. Nor can an election be free or fair when the opposition doesn’t have access to its bank accounts,’ he explained.

He called for an end to divisive politics in the country and emphasised that laws such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act must be changed for the country to be ‘truly democratic and secular.’

‘In the last ten years, there has been large-scale economic destruction,’ noted political economist Parakala Prabhakar.

He expressed concerns about the upcoming elections. ‘If we are not careful in these elections, we probably will not have another free and fair election in this country. And if we are not careful, what is happening in Manipur could happen in every state,’ he warned.

Educationist Niranjan Aradhya pointed out that many government primary schools had been shut over the past decade.

‘The central government, in the past ten years, did not once mention the Right to Education Act and its importance; the act has been completely derailed. The national-level Right to Education compliance rate stands at 25.5%, which means only 25 out of every 100 schools in the country meet all the minimum facilities indicated by the act,’ he said.

Nirmala from the Dalit Sangharsha Samiti and Mallika Ghanti, former vice-chairperson of Hampi Kannada University, both highlighted the issues women face in the country and called for following B R Ambedkar’s values to protect democracy.