Thread by @venchandk

I recently attended @naukarshah 's talk in Bangalore and here I am posting some notes I made on it. Thread👇

“Dissent is Integral to Democracy”

Why are people afraid of dissenting? We are afraid of being called names, we are afraid being personally targeted.

If in a country If we are afraid even to speak out, then that is not the Idea of the country that our forefathers envisioned.

The IDEA of the COUNTRY is important. Are we ready to work for our idea of the country and ready to stand up against the wrong notions that today’s

political establishments are trying to portray? - Kannan Gopinathan is ready and to make others realise of his idea of the country he has resigned to his job and stood along with Kashmiris, his countrymen.

“People get the govt it deserves, the media it deserves, the judiciary it deserves, the opposition it deserves and the country it deserves”

If you are worried about potholes on your way to office yet you keep silent, then we do not deserve good roads,

good roads come to only those people those who care to do something about it.
In the same way, if we do not care something about about our Kashmiri brothers and sisters, then we do not deserve a good government.

“If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so” - Thomas Jefferson

The Gandhian way of dissent by breaking an unjust law is what makes a democracy healthy. If we feel the NRC and its accompanying religious

Citizenship Amendment bill are unjust, its out obligation to disobey it. Only then are we truly national, because laws are made by governments which change once in 5 years, but it is the nation that always stays and not disobeying an unjust law will not build a good country.

"Democratic governments all over the world have become powerhouses."

Checks and balances that are built into the institutions have failed, judiciary, media have failed in protecting civil rights of citizens.
In the case of Kashmir, it is not the ruling government that failed,

but the country has failed in securing its own citizens a good life.
So, basic expectation from any democratic government is both RIGHT TO LIFE and RIGHT TO LIBERTY, any govt which asks us to choose between any two is not the right government.

"What should a bureaucrat do in that case?"

Bureaucrats are not just to do the right things, but also to stop the wrong things to happen. And Kannan Gopinathan is not just the first kind but also the second kind.

"Why is Dissent so important to democracy?"

When installing a pandal for any occasion, the first thing we do after establishing a pole is to SHAKE IT to see if its correctly fixed into the ground. So is, democracy and dissent, if democracy is the pandal, dissent is shaking it.

Can’t I have an opinion that what the current government doing is not in nation’s interest. And today social media has become so toxic that having any opinion otherwise will make you a target for trolls.

"How to tackle the hate-mongers and trolls on social media?"

Graham’s hierarchy of disagreement helps us a lot, the picture is attached. Engage only with those people who argue with you at the top 2 levels of this hierarchy. And the trolls and hate-mongers belong to the lowest rung in the hierarchy.

"Then How should we create space for dissent for a healthy democracy?"

ONLY BY DISSENT. And Not by Alienation of Dissenters, If we start “othering” an entire valley and their voices, it is not healthy for this democracy.

Who are the real Anti-Nationals then?
One who agree and support the governments decision are nationals, One who disagree and oppose are also nationals, but the real anti-nationals are those who disagree and yet keep silent, they are the biggest threat to a democracy and a nation.

"What can I do? I cannot resign from my job like you and protest?"

Solidarity and support can be shown in many ways, join me in showing solidarity to our families in Kashmir. All who feel that we need to stand by our fellow citizens, let's tape our mouth on 19th Oct,

that is 75 days of this, for 75 minutes or any time we are comfortable, gather at any place, or do it individually. #ShutMyMouthToo #RegainYourVoice