Not many people believed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would agree to the demand of the Cockroach Janta Party to remove the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The belief was well founded. Modi is not known to bow down to any pressure. No leader should and that too a popularly elected. Moreover, there was no direct allegation against Minister Pradhan.
The NEET paper leak and the problems in the CBSE evaluation system did not happen for the first time. In fact, the paper leaks have been taking place for a long time. For the first time, there was a demand for the resignation of the concerned minister and eventually he resigned and that too with Modi as the Prime Minister. Things can really go so unpredictably.
Resignation Despite No Direct Allegation
The government ideally should not have buckled under the mob pressure, that too when it was more than clear that there was no direct allegation against the minister. Given the country of India’s size, every ministry and every department is spread across a vast swathe of area with lakhs of people involved and engaged at different levels. Examination papers are set at a far too different level, with the minister hardly having to do anything directly. But he was made to resign under the “mob” pressure. The opposition has not got anything except the sadistic consolation that it has claimed one of the important ministers in the government.
Opening the Door to More Pressure Politics
With this, the government has unfortunately set a very wrong and dangerous precedent. This is just the beginning. There can be, and in all probability there will be, many more such incidents in the future. Having tasted the blood, organisations like the Cockroach Janta Party, supported by the opposition, which got a lifeline with these protests, can magnify any small issue and made to snowball into a major controversy, leading to a demand for more such resignations. Now that Prime Minister Modi has removed Pradhan, this must be a one-time exception and not the beginning of a process to destabilise a democratically elected government.
Why Modi Chose Restraint
There were quite a few reasons for Modi to agree to the demand for the minister’s resignation. Starting with the Arab Spring that saw violent uprisings in the Middle East some years ago to the violent regime change in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka triggered by unorganized mass protests apparently made the government adopt a cautious approach. It is not that the ruling regime, with lakhs of supporters and volunteers, could not have staged the counter protests. But that would have led to widespread unrest and the problem may have got further complicated.
Advice from Within the Parivar
There were some notes of caution from within the Sangh Parivar as well, with no less a person than the Sarsanghchalak (the Supremo) Mohan Bhagwat suggesting to the government, though indirectly, that there should be debate, not dictation and the government should listen to the younger generation. Another BJP veteran, a former president and former Union Education Minister (at that time it was named the Human Resource Development ministry), Dr Murli Manohar Joshi also came clearly in support of the protesting students and advised the government to listen to the younger generation.
The Danger of Rewarding Mob Pressure
While peace is always a better option, it must come at such a huge cost and must not set a precedent for the future. Mobilising masses, particularly the younger generation in the age of social media, is not very difficult. People can be very easily influenced and swayed for no reason, as was evident from the way many of the protestors spoke and behaved, hurling nasty and personal abuses at the Prime Minister and also resorting to violence and damage to public property.
Parliament, Not the Streets, Must Prevail
While under such circumstances retreat was the best course for the government to adopt, this must not become a trend. Democracy must not be taken for a ride. It must not be allowed to be used to undermine itself. The government must ensure that such democracy is run from the institution of parliament by the duly elected parliamentarians and not from the streets by the mobs and anarchists. We must not allow our democracy to slip into anarchy where anyone can hold the state to ransom in the name of dissent and freedom to protest.
(Views expressed are personal.)