The Perils of Follow the Leader Syndrome.
– Dushyant Dave
“Andre Gide, the French writer, once said, “Everything has been said before, but since nobody listens we have to keep going back and begin all over again. “
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We need to stir up our collective conscience, the inner voice that warns us that things are not normal………….
We must remind ourselves what B R Ambedkar said on November 25, 1949. “The second thing that we must do as to observe the caution which John Stuart Mill has given to all who are interested in the maintanence of democracy, namely, not ‘to lay their liberties at the feet of even a great man, or to trust him with power which enable him to subvert their institutions ‘.
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“Bhakti in religion may be a road to salvation of soul. But in politics, Bhakti or hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship.”
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With……… the judiciary virtually silent……
The media and civil society have to step in to guard the nation as they are the last bastions of a vibrant democracy.
One can only think of the poem by Josiah Gilbert Holland, with the line,
“…A time like this demands, Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands. “
As Albert Einstein once said, “The strength of the Constitution lies entirely in the determination of each Citizen to defend it. “
So let us all take a vow to defend the Constitution of India. I know of no other way forward”.
( Dushyant Dave is a former President of the Supreme Court Bar Association)
