Page 54 - Mann ki Baat June 2022 - English
P. 54
Increasing awareness about
Democratic Rights among citizens
parts of the world have rightly
sacrificed their lives and even
caused momentous upheavals.
What we in India take for granted
has proved elusive to millions of
people living in other parts of the
world where the right to say 'No'
is forbidden. It is acceptance or
nothing.
Yet, as Prime Minister Narendra
Swapan Dasgupta Modi reminded us in his 'Mann ki
Baat' address, this fundamental
Former MP, Rajya Sabha right was rudely snatched away
from us for nearly 20 months
between 1975 and 1977. In the
life of post-Independence India,
At the very least, democracy
this horrible spell was too brief
means the right of citizens to
to scar us permanently, but at
choose a Government — be it
least it taught us the virtues of
national, regional, and local – of
democracy — a system that has
their preference. It means the
its undoubted flaws but which
right to say 'Yes' when necessary
we also cherish. The Emergency,
and 'No' when dissatisfied. These
which was overturned by the
are huge rights and privileges
collective will of the people, left
for which people in different
Indians with a
simple message:
Never again. It is
unlikely that future
generations will
disregard this.
If democracy is
a fact of life and
is unlikely to be
subverted yet
again, why is it
50
50
50
