The cost of living a lie will have to be paid in full, and all that is built on the foundation of lies will one day crumble. Let us look around in our tiny Goa and see how lies, intentional or unintentional, have been embedded into our daily lives and discourse.
Or else, let us keep a hand on our hearts and ask, "Is everything all right?" On the face of it, we are made to believe so, but deep within, we are even unrecognisable to ourselves, irrespective of what we see in the mirror every morning.
First of all, we are fed with the notion of living in the world's greatest democracy, where every vote is counted in money. And, every vote can be bought. Money walks and talks, where all else fails, and democracy stutters! It's time we wake up and assess the democracy in which we are living.
The Supreme Court judgement in the electoral bonds case comes as a saving grace for democracy, while at the same time, exposing the muck in which we all have been living all this while. The institution of democracy certainly failed us, but more so those who swore by these very "illicit" bonds.
It's time for accountability, but do we have it in us to raise questions or are we scared of the powers that be that come to power on our votes? Democracy is about empowerment, the one which gives us the constitutional right to question the wrongs. But, we are happy with digesting the lies.
Post-independence and over a period of time, the structure of our democracy has undergone a sea change with power vested more in governance at the top, when in reality, it has to start at the grassroots. This brings into the picture our grassroots bodies like the panchayats which are all controlled, with the members bowing down to their political masters.
According to Freedom House, 73 countries, representing 75 per cent of the global population have downgraded freedom scores. Those affected include not just authoritarian states like China and Venezuela, but also troubled democracies like the United States and India, it adds.
The basis of any democracy is criticism, dialogue and freedom to express oneself freely, which, today, is not the case. Sadly, even in our tiny Goa, we have started to see those in the government as not very receptive to criticism, which is the hallmark of democracy.
Today, lies have infiltrated our democratic setup and these lies are taking us down, and we are happily accepting what comes our way. If there is any discourse that we need to take up today, it is the discourse on democracy -- our rightful assessment of it.
Evaluating democratic freedom is a right. If you feel you are losing the right to express yourselves freely, then democracy is in danger or it's not working the way it has.
If you don't express yourself, it will mean living in a lie that will cost you dearly. So, let us not be afraid to raise our voices against the wrongs.
The Supreme Court judgement against electoral bonds has now thrown open a debate -- was democracy serving justice to the people or were politicians fulfilling their own wilful agendas, not in tune with their constitutional mandate?
It's time to seek accountability, and this time, when you vote, think of those who sacrificed to set up India's vibrant democracy. It's time to find out what real democracy means and how to strengthen it. It's time to seize back the rightful power vested in us and not them.