Delhi Protest: Can CJP Become the Next AAP? Snap Poll On CJP Decoded

[00:00:00]It's true that the state seeks to protect itself, but a democratic state also needs a vibrant public sphere and an engaged civic culture to ensure that state power remains accountable to citizens. In a constitutional democracy, popular sovereignity is a source of political authority while parliament is its constitutional expression.

[00:00:19]Democratic movements derive their legitimacy from shaping public opinion and holding governments accountable not from substituting themselves for constitutional institutions. On the other hand also instead of just demanding the resignation of ministers through referendum style mobilization the sonum bangukled movement could focus on securing systematic reforms in educational governance independent oversight of examinations student welfare and institutional accountability thereby deepening rather than destabilizing constitutional democracy.

[00:00:50]The question is not whether the street can replace parliament, but whether the street can strengthen constitutional democracy by making its institutions more accountable equally. Governments and political parties must look beyond immediate electoral gains or losses and respond to genuine civic concerns through dialogue and institutional reform. But there's a larger issue about the nature of protest. What is the protest telling us? It is a postmodern movement or a digital activism is question number one. Is it the power of the powerless is the second issue? Does it represent hybrid form of corrective action? Is it pure play genz protest?

[00:01:28]Does it mark an evolution in India's tradition of protests?

[00:01:33]Then are these protests blending postmodernism with Gandhian philosophy?

[00:01:38]Social media is the principal form of engagement but participants also blend hunger strikes and peaceful marches.

[00:01:43]Traditional intermediaries are absent and network participation is the form rather than hierarchial system that is in place in other places. Protest is decentralized rather than organization led. It is leaderike rather than carter based. Movement is personalized and emotionally driven.

[00:02:03]Protests are digitally coordinated with rapid mobilization like in cases of flash mobs. Now can digitally empowered citizens become empowered civic actors on this issue. I have two very distinguished guests. I'm joined by professor Bakrant Aranche from Sri Arbindo Vedra University and he joins me live from Tampa Bay region Florida.

[00:02:25]Thank you so much sir. And I'm joined by professor Ashwani Kumar author a prolific writer and a poet. I thank both of you but my question remains very simple and I'll go to uh professor paranchpe first and then to professor Ashwini Kumar. Can our democracy sir sustain dissent and why do populist governments sometimes behave or start to behave undemocratically?

[00:02:58]Yes, it's a very important question and the way in which uh our parliamentary style democracy functions has been you know called by a distinguished Sri Lankan theorist and political historian.

[00:03:14]Uh he coined the term Eastminster model.

[00:03:17]So it's not the Westminster. You might have heard the uh new British prime minister's speech yesterday uh you know right in front of 10 Downing Street. And you see the Westminster model responds a little differently from the Eastminster.

[00:03:35]In the Eastminster model, even journalists, veteran journalists, yourself included, I'm sure, um you know, haven't escaped the occasional tear gas shell or even maybe the water cannon. So uh you know what I'm trying to say is that the modes of protest have changed but uh the state has to be responsive. So you know from a distance Kartika what I see is the disinformation fog you know the way in which these narratives are spun and twisted but I can tell you one thing for sure as someone who's been in the education sector lifelong you know uh that there is true discontent there is there is a real problem in Indian in the Indian education sector and uh to put it you know uh very directly there are you know mafias it would seem from the nursery to the coaching camps or the coaching colonies in Kota and elsewhere which seem to be running this whole racket of how to crack these entrance exams and technology is not the solution you see there is scam after scam let's not forget the vapam scam in in Madhya Pradesh and the leaks are so pervasive even the j has been leaked I've taught at an IIT I was at IIT Delhi and we would never Imagine the J leaking. So what I'm trying to say is the rot is much deeper and therefore this andolan gi Rajaniti of demanding some minister's resignation or the other to me is really besides the point. It's really lowhanging fruit. they can easily reshuffle you know the cabinet and uh you know seemingly address these demands but the real rot is deeper and if it's not just the education sector there are land mafias there is a decentralized corruption apparatus you see construction mafias you know you name it everywhere there seems to be a small group of people we just saw the Ramand the so-called chandachur And there is one theory that all of this is just to distract from that. So to sum up what I'm trying to say is obviously even the Eastminster style parliamentary democracy has to be responsive and will be but let's have a little more idealism. Let's go to the root issues.

[00:06:00]Let's not overpoliticize. And to the younger students once again I don't know how many are really students. Some are called andolan jvies. I was in the middle of these protests in JNU and I can tell you no side is innocent. But the but the most important thing I want to say and that goes back to your initial which I thought was a very sensitive uh you know point bypoint uh uh you know discussion map for us which is that the power of the moral force hasn't declined you know from Gandhi G to Ana Hazar prior to that JP to today we still need a so-called moral figure who is above politics and I'm not sure whether the son banguk can actually fulfill that role.

[00:06:46]>> Okay.

[00:06:47]>> But it's there. But it's there.

[00:06:48]>> The Borla. You're talking about the Boralak. Uh, Professor Ashi Kubar. Uh, >> okay.

[00:06:54]>> Do you think that protest in last 20 years have evolved in a different direction? Is it because of s technology like wars change because of technology, gunpowder, drones, you know, or is it uh or is it because of aworked society that has evolved?

[00:07:13]And uh this is to borrow from you uh this postmodernism mimicking some aspects of Gandhian protests. How does that happen sir or why does that happen sir?

[00:07:27]>> Yeah I mean like these are these are fundamental questions. Before I say anything, I would like to, you know, uh, say very at the very outset that I really agree with Makaran's, you know, profoundly interesting formulations and reflections, you know, and you forgot to mention that, you know, we are fellow poets also makrand. So I can see in Makran today you know the poetic flourish you know the poetic flourish you know and that poetic flourish you know to begin with you know is defining the way India's republic is being reimagined I hope I'm also addressing makrandan and karthartik both of you this is also opportunity for us you know whether we look at you know the medium the mood the means of you know the pro you see I'm little uncomfort table as Makrand is aware of the term protest you know I mean like you know but of late you know if you look at Indian history Gandhi G never said that you know it's kind of a protest you know he went into you know a mode in a spiritual mode you know so will will this postmodern you know form of protest or civil or civic engagement you know let's put it more positively and perhaps you know less negatively is kind of a new mode of civic engagement ment where the protesters you know or or the activist you know or the mobilizers you know are trying to use what I call collectivism you know collectivism and that's this is part of the greater you know formulation in terms of you know bowman's thesis of liquid modernity that's happening all over east to west north south everywhere you know wherever there is a internet or you have a smartphone you can become you know you can generate your you know cycles of civic energies. So that's very different from 19th century social movement or even from Gandhian social movement you know or or or even Japraas Nara and as a as a as a child I have seen as a as a as a schoolgoing student I have seen anti-emergency in Patna Gandhi Maidan where JP was trying to use a different medium and a different way of you know energizing people against the dictatorship. So let me just you know summarize what I said. The postmodern Mahatma you know has some positive elements but on the other hand it doesn't raise the issue what Makarand started out with you know the deeper you know and the fundamental issues you know the fundamental issues today is our education system just look at the kota we have worked on kota has become suicide capital can we fix it can we you know stop privatization of schools colleges etc etc you know karthik you know look at the anger look Look at the discontent where it is coming from the liberalization or what we call golden goose the whole obsession with the golden goose of the gains of liberalization has halted not only halted but also corrupted education. So these symptoms you know the leakage let me conclude here the leakages are actually symptoms of a larger malis you know I mean this is my 40 years of 40th years of as a university professor or as a teacher in the