QUESTION: Do you think the great Indian democracy is weakening? If so, are the intelligence agencies also to be blamed for it. What is the solution?

ANSWER: Today, democracies are slowly getting eroded or destroyed, not by some cliques or their revolution; rather, it is a gradual deterioration of the free-dom of every individual. It is happening in big democracies, including India. Many developments have contributed to this erosion. There is the emerging trend of divide and rule, which creates social tension. The erosion of democracy did not happen all on a sudden; it happened gradually and imperceptibly through the curtailing of the freedom of human rights activists. Today, Press and other forms of the media are so influential that they are coaxed with inducements or threatened using investigative agencies to support the powers that be. This is very upsetting for those who fight for the rights of the poor. Look at the case of Fr Stan Swamy, who is fighting for the rights of the tribals, they have booked him on some trumped up charges and put him in prison. So, no one is now left who can be the voice of the voiceless. Definitely, there is a systematic effort to destroy people’s democratic freedom.

Abp Leo Cornelio S.V.D.

Bhopal