Ever since Lal Krishna Advani revealed on the 40th anniversary Emergency that he fears a similar situation could arise again, there has been much consternation amongst political watchers about this dark possibility.
Two worthies - one wearing rose-coloured glasses and the other in sack cloth and ashes - were overheard mulling on this and other recent developments over rum and peanuts at a Mumbai speakeasy yesterday.
Sack Cloth and Ashes (morosely): Can't order my favourite chilly beef here any more. Things are getting bad, I tell you. Feels like a police state…
Rose Coloured Glasses (cheerily): For god's sake, what's a plate of beef in the larger scheme of things? Small potatoes! Modiji is bringing in development and "achhe din" for us all.
SCA: I don't know my friend, things seem to be going pear-shaped. They tried to ban 28 cuss words from being uttered in films, words like "lesbian" and "ghanta". And later, after protests, the 28-word list was itself banned.
RCG: See? You worry too much.
SCA: I hope you're right. But more than 800 porn sites were blocked. Even sites hosting jokes, memes and other humorous content, with names such as College Humor, were banned.
RCG: You are making a mountain of a molehill my friend. In any case, a day after it realised its mistake, the government lifted the ban.
SCA: Guess you're right. But did you hear about the strong arm tactics over BBC's India's Daughter on the Nirbhaya rape incident - how the information and broadcasting ministry issued an advisory to all TV channels not to air the documentary and even wrote to the BBC for stopping the telecast? Interfering with our right to information, no?
RCG: Stop nitpicking. You guys only want to see the bad side. Always.
SCA: I wish I could agree with you, but things seem curiouser and curiouser. They've banned Gmail in all government offices and some say they are considering it for ordinary citizens, too, because it's not right to "park all our data in foreign lands".
RCG: What's the big deal? If we can't use Gmail, I'm sure our techno savvy PM is already developing a Make in India' alternative, one that he can personally monitor. Look how much the NRIs adore him. Haven't you seen how they mob him when he goes abroad?
SCA: An unofficial ban on films of Aamir Khan in Gujarat after he made statements against the Narmada river dam, bans on Firaaq, Nandita Das's award winning film on the families affected by the 2002 communal riots, along with Parzania, based on a true story during the Gujarat riots…
RCG: Gujarat isn't India my friend.
SCA: I guess so, but why do I have this niggling feeling of approaching doom? Who would ban organisations like Amnesty International and Greenpeace and go after political opponents like Teesta Setalvad with such vengeance - except a fascist state?
RCG: You are really buying into conspiracy theories now. Organisations like these were working against India - the government probably had information about the same. As for Setalvad, you don't know the details of the case. C'mon, yaar! Bar's closing! Drink up.
SCA: For god's sake man - the speaker of the Lok Sabha suspended 25 Congress MPs this week! If that's not an Emergency-like situation, what is?
RCG: You seem a bit paranoid lately. Have you been taking your medication regularly? Can't you see that all is fine in this great land of ours and we are at the dawn of our Golden Age?
SCA (cheering up): I guess you're right. I'm just being paranoid. Thank god those dark days of Emergency will never come back again. Waiter, check please.
Malavika Sangghvi is a Mumbai-based writer malavikasmumbai@gmail.com
