On the eve of the completion of a year, Srinagar district administration imposed curfew that remained in force on August 4 and 5.There was complete restriction on public movement/curfew in the territorial jurisdiction of Srinagar district.

It was an open attack on democracy, an attempt to erase the only state that had one of the minority communities in majority, an identity that was used as ground to boost chauvinism among those in majority in the rest of the country.

The initiative was not new, as the flame of clash between the dominating and the dominated has always been a running theme in various stages of social development, but communal wedge is product of capitalism that promotes theocracy, and breeds chauvinism keeping one community subservient to the other. Abrogation of the Art 370 was part of the same divisive psyche, followed by lock down, soldiers parading the streets, and the entire people living in constant fear, shut down within four walls of their homes. With the political leaders incarcerated, the chaos was complete. Last one year has provided us the glimpse of a world that could be after collapse of democracy.

To strengthen the hold of militant communalism, an attack has been unleashed against secular ethos of the country. It is an offence against our Constitution, the basic fabric of our composite culture that has laid the foundations of our democracy. A little more than four decades after the Constitution was adopted, an active mosque, named Babri Masjid, built exquisitely several centuries back, was demolished. The act that wounded the psyche of our democratic masses deeply, faced innumerable court proceedings, but finally permission was obtained to build the temple. The foundation stone was laid down on August 5, where even prime minister was present, offering the majority religion an official status. It is democracy fading into theocracy.

In fact, the clash is not between civilizations, in reality it is between the ninety nine percent and the one percent, the famous slogan that rallied the widest possible masses in the United States and reflected a truth alive since the division of labour. To keep the absolute majority suppressed, the world is remade again and again. The rule of one percent does not stay for long, despite its suppressive policies, as the history confirms. Masses never swallow the dictatorship of one percent. Hence, attempts are always made to enslave their consciousness. The changes in the education policy is one such means. Diluting the courses, inviting the foreign investors to make interference in the country’s intellectual evolution and then making it selective, since the price one has to pay would be beyond the reach for the common masses. Ignorance would be promoted as the courses redefined prove.

Then there would be ‘benign privatisation’, which is de facto commercialization. No reservation has been mentioned at any level, either for students or the employees, nor the caste, except in some oblivious references. There has been coined an acronym for the deprived, Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDG), but there is no mention how this section would be dealt with. About the tribal areas, as in other parts of the country, there would be Ashramshalas. The NEP stands against schools scattered in remote areas hence a combined system, which would offer multiple subjects and along with that interdisciplinary streams. But the reality is there is standing scarcity of teachers and students are left to learn on their own.

Then there is dealing with the Constitution. There are certain values spelt out as constitutional and mention “…knowledge and practice of human and constitutional values (such as patriotism, sacrifice, non-violence, truth, honesty, peace, righteous conduct, forgiveness, tolerance, mercy, sympathy, helpfulness, cleanliness, courtesy, integrity, pluralism, responsibility, justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity)” .The abstraction is complete and to evade the mention of fundamental rights and duties, there has only been a fleeting reference of them. Obviously, the intention is to crowd the young, evolving mind and leave them confused. Are we keen to have sub-humans, since there is nothing in NEP that offers us promises for a humane society. (IPA Service)