Dismantling Democracies– Toolkit of ‘Civil Society’

Published by
Ratan Sharda
If we have to thrive as a democratic nation and a republic, we need to recognise the dangers to our democracy posed by forces who call themselves ‘Civil Society’ but reality is they are Uncivil in nature

 

During Emergency, I was informed that a new body PUCL (People’s Union for Civil Liberties) had been formed to fight for democracy and I was to be a part of it. I was a student leader at that time and just out of jail. It was to be headed by redoubtable freedom fighter Ms Usha Mehta. I was thrilled. However, the call never came. After some period, I found that PUCL was now controlled by pronounced Left-leaning and Marxist-type of people, nowadays referred to as Urban Naxals. It is an example of how Left forces hijack or create bodies that fight for human rights, environmental protection and a presumably better life for the citizens of a nation or world. It has become a norm to assume that the Left would control any ‘civil society movement. 

Once, I asked a civil rights NGO why are such groups called “civil” groups? There was no coherent answer. It seems a small group of people have arrogated upon themselves the definition of civil. Are other citizens at larger uncivil? 

Every society has inequalities and imperfections, and we need conscious citizens who will stand up for corrective action. Why have most of such organisations become dens of Left who, by their very ideologies don’t believe in democracy and democratic institutions? 

These groups want economic justice but oppose every developmental project. For them, it is environment or development. Never environment and development. Highway to Indo-China border is opposed, though it is a crucial link in defence strategy. The Kundakulam project was opposed in the name of environmental risk  though it is the most eco-friendly and major energy source in many countries, preferred over fossil fuels like coal. 

Sterlite Copper factory was shut down because it was supposedly a health hazard, though not a single employee living close to the Sterlite plant died. In both cases, agitations were led by Church leaders. Is there a nexus? Recall that Sterlite took care of nearly 40 per cent copper requirements of India. Who benefitted with the shut down? Most dangerous enemy of India-China. Narmada dam would have never been made if environmental terrorists had their way, and major parts of Gujarat would remain parched and Kutch a desert. 

Human rights are universal irrespective of caste and creed or class. However, activists will be found to defend terrorists and Naxals. I am looking out for them defending wrongly accused Hindu of terror charges. They have never stood up for Armed Forces or police when their rights are abused. 

Their Naxal friends in tribal areas sabotage elections because according to them, ours is a flawed democracy. They kill those who wish to study, those who bring in development. Because development is not suitable for the Naxal agenda. However, no civil rights group will stand up for tribal rights or a girl killed who dared to study. 

 

  • “India losses 2-3 per cent of it’s GDP every due to delayed projects and stuck projects under court trial or delayed due to some protest”: A detailed report published by IB in 2014
  • In 2014, three out of the top five recipients of foreign aid were Church backed organisations. Nine out of the top fifteen were Church supported organisations. These funds are to the tune of billions of dollars year after year

 

Civil rights groups will decide which violence is right or wrong depending on political persuasion. When Khalistanis were killing people in Punjab, including personnel of Punjab Police, of whom the majority were Sikhs, human rights activists were hiding in cupboards. But when terrorism was finally defeated, they wriggled out of their woodworks and filed 100s of cases of human rights violations. Such was the harassment that gutsy police officer who stood boldly in Tarn Taran to end terrorism, AS Sandhu, committed suicide! Such was the scare of these lobbies that Government of the day refused to help police personnel who had staked their all in this gory war of attrition. 

Recall civil activists waking up courts at odd hours to save terrorists and celebrating calls to morchas with anti-India slogans when security forces kill terrorists. All of them celebrate the Constitution to corrode it and ultimately destroy it. They quote it when it suits them but are quiet when protectors of the Constitution are targeted. 

Their allies in the West can’t bear to see developing countries rise. It is another form of racism. Civil rights activists want to put India down because they are bankrolled by countries that want India to remain poor and exploited. supporters of these Civil groups 

Ultimately, one requires funds for people who sit and enjoy free lunches in Shaheen Bagh or who sit on dharnas at dam sites, gather and create violence in Kundakulam or Sterlite. From where do they get it? Most of us know that they are financed by foreign funding agencies in the guise of green movements, civil rights movements, development or human rights. Most of us still don’t know that in most of these cases, these funds are backed by the Church or funds are directly funnelled from Church treasuries or foundations funded by powerful capitalists who want to hold back developing countries. Sanjeev Nayyar, a CA, had tracked funds received through FCRA in 2014 and found that the top recipients were generally Church-backed NGOs with professed links and many with indirect links. In 2014, three out of the top five recipients of foreign aid were Church-backed organisations. Nine out of the top fifteen were Church-supported organisations. These funds are to the tune of billions of dollars year after year.

Then there are foundations like Ford Foundation who promote Left-leaning activists. Arvind Kejriwal received Magsaysay Award within six months of the launch of his NGO. Think about it. It takes years to establish one’s voluntary organisation both in terms of work and recognition. There are many such names. Greenpeace Movement is a State by itself with budgets that are bigger than some small countries. They have their ships! According to Wikipedia-Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network. 

Enforcement Directorate’s reports suggest that Shaheen Bagh agitation was being supported by radical Islamist bodies funded through foreign organisations and hawala. Wahhabisation was fuelled by petro-dollars, leading to a rise in orthodoxy unseen in India until the 1980s. Islamic bodies with huge petro-dollar funds flooded academia and social organisations globally and changed the narrative in universities and opinion leaders. Such is their influence that Islamophobia became an accepted term and is being used in Canada legally to browbeat critics of Islam and radical Islamists. It is bandied about to protect this exclusivist religion from scrutiny.

Fourth Generation Warfare 

It is acknowledged by think tanks that the coming warfare will be more of a mind game than real battles on the borders or inside a country. Fourth-generation warfare is based on misinformation. It is waged by influencing thinking at an individual and societal level. Internet and its off-springs are playing a major role in destabilising societies and nations, disturbing the traditional relations in the society and creating anarchy by ‘conditioning’ minds. We have seen the naked dance of anarchy in recent years in Bharat too. 

As noted above, the people who raise the hue and cry of democracy referring to the Constitution behave like one-eyed creatures blindsided with bias. Marxists of various hues of Red have no faith in democracy. They still celebrate the so-called Communist regimes who have butchered over 100 million people who did not and do not believe in their ‘religion’, an unproven religion that has failed everywhere. The so-called Communist regimes are one-party rule controlled by a small minority of office bearers of the ruling party. This is termed as ‘dictatorship of the proletariat. People who talk of equality and gender justice have allied with ideologies that give second class treatment to their deprived people, women and LGBT communities. 

By its very philosophy, Bharat is pluralist, hence a republic of ideas and faith – the very essence of democracy. She has had democratic institutions beginning from age-old Panchayats to Janapadas and Samitis etc. Therefore, it was very easy for us to transition from British colonialism to democracy. If we had jettisoned the colonial mindset completely, we may have even better grassroots democracy and a dharmic constitution that would talk of duties and rights, not just rights. We should not be bullied by the dismantling democracy toolkit and recognise our self-worth. If we have to thrive as a democratic nation and a republic, we need to recognise the dangers to our democracy posed by these forces. 
 

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