Democracy is not destroyed overnight. It erodes gradually. Each silenced protest, each intimidated dissenter, and each indifferent citizen becomes another nail in the coffin of freedom, observes OSWALD PEREIRA
Some judgments resolve disputes. Others illuminate the Constitution itself. Still others remind a nation of the values it risks forgetting.
The Bombay High Court’s judgment of July 2, 2026, quashing the externment order against local politician Saeed Ahmad Abdul Wahid Chaudhary, is one such judgment. It is far more than a legal victory for one individual. It is a powerful constitutional reminder that governments are elected to govern free citizens, not to rule over obedient subjects.
Justice Madhav Jamdar’s words—citizens cannot be made slaves of the government—deserve to be remembered long after the case itself fades from public memory. Equally significant was his observation that a person cannot be banished from his locality merely because he participates in protests or raises slogans against those in power.
The petitioner had faced multiple FIRs arising largely from peaceful political protests, demonstrations and slogan-shouting against the Government of India. Yet the Court found that such circumstances, by themselves, did not justify the extraordinary step of externment.
Then came the judge’s wry but piercing observation. In today’s Maharashtra, he remarked, perhaps the petitioner should simply change political parties. Given the phenomenon of political defections, the FIRs might well disappear.
Beneath Justice Jamdar’s wit lay a message of profound seriousness. A democracy cannot afford even the perception that the law changes colour with political allegiance. The Constitution recognises neither ruling party nor opposition, only citizens equality before the law. The credibility of justice rests not merely on its fairness, but on the public’s confidence that it is administered without fear, favour or political preference.
The Constitution guards against precisely such dangers.
Article 19 guarantees every citizen the freedom of speech and expression and the right to assemble peacefully. These freedoms are not ornamental phrases drafted by idealists. They are the very machinery through which democracy repairs itself. A government may command a parliamentary majority, but it can never claim a monopoly over truth.
Every reform that India proudly celebrates today was born in dissent. The freedom struggle itself was one long agitation against authority. Trade unions marched until labour laws were enacted. Women fought for decades to secure equal rights. Farmers took to the streets to compel governments to listen. Environmental movements challenged policies that threatened forests and rivers. Many social reformers were first ridiculed, only to be revered by later generations.
No democracy has ever progressed because its citizens remained silent.
That is why the present moment demands uncomfortable questions.
The ongoing protest by the Cockroach Janata Party against alleged corruption and irregularities in the education system has become larger than the immediate issues it seeks to highlight. According to the organisers, they have faced repeated restrictions, including difficulties in erecting temporary shelters to protect protesters from the relentless monsoon. They have objected to being branded as anti-national or even terrorist sympathisers in sections of public discourse. Their account on X was withheld before later being restored following proceedings before the Delhi High Court.
Whether every allegation advanced by either side ultimately withstands judicial scrutiny is a matter for the courts. But one constitutional principle admits of no ambiguity: peaceful protest cannot become suspect merely because it embarrasses those in office.
A confident democracy answers criticism with argument.
An insecure one answers it with intimidation.
History repeatedly warns that freedom rarely disappears with a dramatic announcement. It retreats quietly. A permit is denied here. A protest is curtailed there. An inconvenient voice is labelled anti-national. A journalist is intimidated. An activist is prosecuted. A university is discouraged from debate. Each action appears isolated. Collectively, they become the architecture of fear.
The greater tragedy, however, is not governmental excess.
It is public indifference.
Where is civil society when constitutional freedom comes under strain? Where are the academicians who lecture on democracy? Where are the retired judges, former civil servants, artists, writers, industrialists and opinion-makers whose voices carry moral authority?
Why do so many self-appointed guardians of democracy remain silent when peaceful dissent is discouraged, protesters are stigmatised and constitutional freedom comes under pressure? Principles cease to be principles when they are defended only selectively.
Democracy cannot survive on selective principles. Freedom either belongs to everyone or it belongs to no one.
The Constitution confers rights, but it also imposes duties. Among the Fundamental Duties is the obligation to uphold and preserve the ideals of the Constitution. That responsibility does not rest solely with judges. Nor does it belong exclusively to Parliament. It belongs to every citizen.
Constitutions do not perish because they are badly written.
They perish because good people stop defending them.
Every generation inherits democracy as a trust, not as permanent property. Rights neglected become rights diminished. Rights surrendered become rights forgotten. A democracy that forgets its rights soon forgets its freedom.
The Bombay High Court has reminded India that citizens are not the government’s subjects. That reminder should echo far beyond one courtroom.
For democracy does not die only when the State suppresses dissent.
It also dies when citizens no longer find the courage to speak.
Oswald Pereira, a senior journalist, has written ten books, including The Vijay Revolution: People Power & the Politics of Hope, Beyond Autobiography of a Yogi, The Newsroom Mafia, Chaddi Buddies, The Krishna-Christ Connexion, How to Create Miracles in Our Daily Life and Crime Patrol: The Most Thrilling Stories. Oswald is a disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda, and practises Kriya Yoga.
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