The government
had warned of Khalistani infiltration in the farm protests and possibility of
violence on January 26. The Supreme Court had chosen to believe the lawyers
like Prashant Bhushan or Dushyant Dave representing the farm protest groups. It
was an uphill task on the Republic Day to maintain security given the resources
that are essential for providing security on the Rajpath. The outcomes are very
evident with what happened in the Red Fort. It is no doubt a huge psychological
defeat given the symbolism associated with the structure. Yet such moments have
come in the life of a nation across the globe. India too has faced moments
similar in the past but have conquered and reclaimed back. This too would be
reclaimed. The might of the state will exert itself in the days to come. The movement
as it exists might die soon. The narrative would see a distinct shift to the
anti-national nature of the movement. It would perhaps be difficult to defend
even though the might of the media is behind the protest groups. Their statements
of disowning the act are too feeble to accept. There is no doubt, lot of
outrage would happen in the right as well. There would be clamour for the heads
to roll down. The right wing is in perpetual state of rebellion and abuse and
this would act as a catalyst. Yet, aside of the rightwing reactions as also the
left wing reactions, there are far more deeper messages that one would gather
in this fracas.
In the lead up
to the fracas, it was apparent both the right and left wanted a Jallianawalla
Bagh. The right to demonstrate their might, the left to claim victimhood. The state
has played the role of maximum restraint. It had offered face savers perhaps in
some ways knowing that it would be rejected. Even in the extreme provocations
at the Red Fort, the Delhi Police and the Centre by extension have restrained
themselves. Those who were calling the government fascist must think around
whether this was possible in the fascist regime. Of course, it is not that they
will change their minds. There is too much of intoxication that pervades all
round, something evident in the statements on and off social media by many
celebrities including the section of veterans. They will try to wriggle out but
they would be discredited. Yet given the eggs put in the basket they might
continue with their stance with little option of getting out. At some point, it
might be that the Congress or the AAP have created Frankenstein’s monster but
their immediate goal would be to get rid of Modi or at least create a state of
dysfunctionality that engulfed the Congress post 2011 Anna Hazare fast at the
RamLila.
However, deeper
would be the message of the tendency of sections of left liberal and Islamic
groups to secede or at least created conditions for secession. There is no
doubt an alliance between the Reds and the Greens and what they have done is to
co-opt the Khalistani elements. They have tried to put Modi in a box where he
would find it difficult to tackle the Khalistani as easily he would the Greens
and the Reds. There would be certain humiliation beyond doubt but the long term
outlook would depend on the credibility. The credibility would be subject to the
reprisals expected on those who has desecrated the symbols that manifest the
Indian honour and existence. Yet, it is exactly what they would be looking for.
The left liberals are not in a position where they can enjoy the privileges hitherto
available in the Congress regime. To the left, they had an unquestioned
monopoly on the cultural and the intellectual sphere, the trade-off being
ceding political space to the Congress. The Muslim groups had exercised
considerable veto yet over the last seven years, they have seen the veto
disappearing. Moreover, the attacks on Islamic personal laws have made them
restless anxious for revenge. The CAA protests might have failed but not before
the bloodshed in Delhi. Therefore, the farmer protests was a nice coattail to
ride on in pursuit of their revenge. To these groups, they are in constant need
for a causus belle for the civil war. Yet the government wants to avoid the
same and thrust the blame on them. Therefore there is a cat and mouse game that
is going on at this moment. In terms of states leading this battle, Kerala
seems to be preparing the ground for a possible movement towards secession,
something that would want to be appeared as an exercise of democratic dissent.
There are lot of
baits being thrown around the Modi government to provoke into shooting at the
protestors or coming down very hard on the dissent. Modi government so far has
remained unprovoked and carrying on with its business. This will further madden
the same crowd. While the right wing will continue to exercise its favourite pastime,
the left liberal groups will seek to provoke further. The Kurukshetra has been
decided. The timing is yet to be decided. The manner in which it might come
will have to be decided. There are numerous causes to any war. yet aside of all
the causes, there exists an immediate cause, a cause that is enough to light
the embers whose fire will engulf the society. This is what the left liberals
are seeking in every pursuit of theirs. Their coalition with the greens or the
Sikhs are an endeavour towards the same. In all likelihood, the left will be
sidelined, so would be the Khalsa hardliners as the Islamic groups take over
the movement. It would be their leadership that would determine the trajectory.
The rest would be a smokescreen.
Any system that
gets disrupted and experiencing a reconstruction, will face the turbulences by
the resistance of the existing system. The existing system will never give up
on a platter. Elections are a means to political power and system building but
not an end. Yet in absence of power, system building is not possible, to say
the least. What one is observing is the rearguard action of the decadent system.
It would be bold to say, though unpopular or perhaps paranoid, that Red Fort is
only a trailer or might be version 2.0 of what began in Shaheen Bagh. The coming
scenes would be step forward in the expansion of intensity of the fight. It is
not for the faint-hearted. There would be casualties and many a one at that.
Victory in a war, conquest of an ecosystem that has flourished for around 1000
years is not something that can be demolished. The war seems inevitable, as the
civilization prepares to rediscover its ethos lost in the last millennia to
conquest external and internal. The Red Fort brings one step closer to this
final battle. At this moment, it seems unlikely that Indian state or
civilization will be able to avoid one. Times, unfortunately seem tumultuous.
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