. @shekhargupta puts forth a clever argument to keep hopes of a new “secular” order under the old Constitution alive. It will be tested soon in Kashi & Mathura.

https://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/shekhar-gupta-shrine-for-secularism-120080800088_1.html

Sonia was tone deaf to the excesses of her commies. That doesn’t make RSS/Modi right. 1/2

Democracies die a creeping death, a small step at a time. They don’t dies b/c a mosque is pulled down, or a communal incident turns into a virtual pogrom. How you fall doesn’t matter; it is how you recover after the fall that does.

Since 2014, we have only been falling.

The crucial difference is how the State behaves after a failure or fracture. Does it aid recovery from the fall or does it rationalise the fall as the new normal?

There were attempts to recover from each time we stumbled - some by the people themselves, some by the State.

Since 2014 we have only been stumbling. The state of the polity & the economy even before the virus struck & Xi landed his legions in Ladakh, was there 4 all to see.

Now the courts want to protect collectives & divinity against criticism.

We are only seeking new lows.