• Prakash Kamaltai Gopalrao Pohare

Delhi’s Jantar Mantar is considered a symbol of democratic movements. However, recent events during a student protest there have raised several serious questions. Allegations were made that the police resorted to lathi-charges, fired tear gas shells, and used pellet guns against the protesting students. Furthermore, videos showing students being beaten by individuals in plainclothes went viral on social media. Following this entire incident, the opposition launched a scathing attack on the central government, and the question of who exactly ordered this action became a subject of intense debate—ranging from Parliament to the entire nation.

Against this backdrop, Shri Rahul Gandhi directly targeted the Home Minister in Parliament, posing tough questions to the government and attempting to hold up a mirror to the entire power structure.

Speeches are delivered in Parliament every day, and accusations and counter-accusations are traded daily. Yet, there are certain speeches that strike deep blows against the walls of power with their words. The recent speech by Leader of the Opposition Shri Rahul Gandhi was one such speech.

He did not merely criticize the government; he called into question the very mindset of those in power. The country’s Home Minister was directly in his crosshairs. There was but one question: who exactly issued the orders for the alleged crackdown on the students protesting at Jantar Mantar? If the Home Minister issued these orders, it constitutes a grave assault on democracy. And if this occurred without his knowledge or instruction, then under whose control does the nation’s police force actually operate? In a democracy, this question cannot be evaded.

However, the sharpest part of Rahul Gandhi’s speech was not the accusation, but his classification of human intelligence. The first category—students: those who are ready to learn, ask questions, and embrace new ideas. The second category—fools: those who believe they know everything. To them, truth, logic, and evidence hold no significance. The third category—blind devotees. They do not think for themselves; instead, they accept whatever others say as the absolute truth. As soon as these three words echoed in Parliament, a sense of unease spread through the House, for everyone began to see their own reflection in them. The question is not what Shri Rahul Gandhi said; the question is, why did such a simple example make the ruling party so uncomfortable? The true strength of democracy lies in the ability to ask questions. Universities serve as laboratories for students who question the status quo. If students take to the streets, the response should be dialogue, not suppression. Lathis, tear gas, or violence cannot be the language of any democratic government. A distinct culture seems to be emerging in the country today. Anyone who asks questions is branded a traitor; anyone who criticizes the government is labeled anti-national; and anyone who holds a mirror to power is declared an enemy. In such an atmosphere, what kind of students will emerge—thinking individuals or blind devotees? Does the country need scientists or slogan-shouters? Does the country need researchers or soldiers who merely applaud on social media? Does the country need citizens who think for themselves or followers who have mortgaged their own thinking? The answers to these very questions will determine India’s future. A political party might need blind devotees, but the nation does not. The nation needs thinkers, researchers, teachers, students, and citizens who possess the courage to speak the truth. Everyone has the right to agree or disagree with Shri Rahul Gandhi’s speech. However, ignoring the questions he has raised could prove dangerous for democracy. This is because history shows that dictatorship always begins by silencing those who ask questions, and democracy meets its end when a society comes to have more blind devotees than students. Therefore, the biggest question today is not who Shri Rahul Gandhi is. The question is: who are ‘We’? Students...? Or fools...? Or blind devotees...? Every Indian must answer this for themselves.

(The author is an agricultural thinker and a Public Interest Litigation petitioner.)

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