There's something more troubling on my mind than the uphill battle of voting this fascist/totalitarian democracy out of power (which would be as difficult as prying something from a dead man's hand)! Something beyond it. While we're meant to cross that bridge when we come to...

...it; I can't help but dwell on it!
India has faced many challenges since its inception, but the most damaging (IMHO); is one of a dangerous precedent. Specifically, the one that has been set by the current Govt in power. Healthy checks & balances weaponized as a means to...

...curtail fundamental rights of citizens. Corruption morphed into a force to reckon with. Bigotry turned into pride. Hate projected as strength. Populism hailed as democracy. Propaganda peddled as truth. Cult of personality paraded as nationalism. Laws meant for protection of...

...citizenry, used for its persecution. Mass media, that's supposed to speak truth to power; is pandering to it instead! Criminalization of dissent & ascension of criminals to power. Crony capitalism whitewashed as development. Enslavement of institutions to serve political...

...interests. Creating chaos as a means of distraction. Using brute force & violence against citizens. Otherization of certain sections of citizens instead of unifying every community as Indians. State sanctioned oppression of minorities to mainstream majoritarianism. Doubling...

...down on lies & wrongs as a tactic for the obfuscation of facts. Trivializing what matters while highlighting what shouldn't. Press conferences for accountability reduced to monologues in front of a green screen. History revised from a documentation of what happened to a...

...narrative that fits an agenda of the govt's choosing. Coercion revamped as free will. Vilification of independent thought. Pluralism in any capacity defeated by totalitarianism. Pitting Indians of differing opinions against each other. Appealing to baser human instincts &...

...doing away with the practice of winning off of the merits of a matter. Deterioration of educational standards. Superstition valued over science. Power used for anything other than the bettering of lives of ppl. Unfair elections & non transparency of govt funds. Disastrous...

...public policies marketed as masterstrokes. Cheapening of the public discourse & eroding its trust. Championing evil & ridiculing the good. Illusion/perception management to counter reality. Nothing but one political party above the country. So I ask you, even if we were to...

...rise to the challenge of fighting a fascist regime; what happens to the wreck left behind? How long will it take to rebuild & at what/whose cost will it be done? What about the ppl who have naively/wilfully contributed to the subversion of democracy? What of the ppl who've...

...been radicalized? What about the ppl who've lost their lives, livelihoods & so much more? If fascist powers that be are defeated, will they give up without a fight? Will India ever get better? Will Indians care more about economy/development rather than politics/religion?...

...Will we be building new schools than places of worship? Will we ever empathize with someone else's pain & not dismiss it as an antithesis to our own? Will we stop treating human rights/peace of one community as a threat to another? Will we have a govt that's truly of the...

...ppl, by the ppl & for the ppl? Will gaming the system become a trend? Is there hope for us or are we a lost cause?

It's probably very pessimistic/apprehensive of me, but when I think of the future of this country; this is what I think of. And you should too. We all should.