Ignoring hunger and health, Mokhada plays politics

As one approaches the towns of Jawhar and Mokhada, the irony that the places infamous for malnourishment have dhabas around their perimeters, stands out. Nestled in the backdrop of Sahyadri hills in north-western Maharashtra, Mokhada is one of the eight tehsils of the newly carved out Palghar district and along with the tehsils of Jawhar, Vikramgad and Wada, it is synonymous with abject poverty and deaths due to malnutrition.

This phenomenon is no novelty for the region which is home to tribal communities. Every year there are deaths due to malnutrition and though things are improving, the pace is slow.  According to a Hindustan Times report, 565 children died due to malnutrition in 2014. The figure was 626 in 2015 and 449 in 2016. The kids weigh as low as 1000-1250 g and do not get the vital nutritional supplements. The story is omnipresent in almost all the villages of these tehsils.

As per the 2011 census, Mokhada tehsil has a total population of 83,453 spread over 59 villages. The government records state that Palghar district has 278 malnourished kids in the month of September, 2018. Dr. Bhagyashri Patil, the medical officer at the rural hospital in Mokhada says, “We endeavour to save every life. We take a stock of the situation every week, identify the malnourished kids and keep them under observation for 15 days. The kids are provided with necessary supplements. We have also started with an ambulance service catering to the distant villages.” The hospital has a special facility for malnourished kids. The villages in Mokhada tehsil are spread over a wide area which could be 5-40 km away from the town. Not every village has access to a vehicle, so they walk half the way and then take the ambulance. The lapse of critical time results in increased health complexities. 

Mokhada Rural Hospital has a special facility for 

malnourished children

The government’s negligence has made way for various non-governmental organisations to work for this cause. “Nobody wants to hit at the roots. Providing food and medicines is noble but it is a temporary solution. The main issue is the non-availability of water. Water is a traded commodity. People are forced to drink the contaminated water from the wells and rivers which is the main cause of disease among children. There are dams built around Jawhar-Mokhada-Wada. A pipeline is needed to bring that water to the villages and towns. Every year promises are made but never kept,” says Rajendra Katilkar, aged 49, who has worked with ‘Aroehan’, the leading NGO working in Mokhada. Hanif Shaikh, 35, a local journalist doesn’t agree with this and remarks, “The main issue is the lack of employment. People don’t have resources to make two ends meet. Farming doesn’t have much scope. People migrate for the menial jobs which don’t pay well. Establishing industrial parks or corporations would help in generating jobs and improving the livelihood of the local population”. Another practice that is followed by the tribals is early marriage.   Katilkar and Shaikh, both blame early marriages for malnutrition as the underage girls are unable to bear a healthy child.

Local activists smell dirty politics behind the issue of deadline in the construction of pipeline. They accuse the politicians and district officials of having a nexus with the water-tanker mafias. Pipeline would make these mafias lose their business. District officials were unavailable for comment.

However, there is another side to this story. Katilkar and Shaikh, both state that the villagers do not want to improve either. According to Katilkar, there is a constant attempt by the villagers to declare their child as malnourished to get enhanced subsidies. Shaikh also says that even when people have money, it is spent on buying alcohol rather than food. Lack of awareness and education has a major role to play. Moreover, the local residents do not appreciate others preaching them on such issues. They see this as an interference in their lives.

Ambepanna village in Mokhada is home to four malnourished 

children

Jawhar and Mokhada are strategically located with access to the towns of Dahanu, Boisar, Palghar, Nashik and Silvassa. The Lok Sabha constituency is Palghar and Vidhan Sabha constituency is Vikramgad and both the seats are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes. Appa Chaoudhary, 73, a Mokhada resident says, “It is beyond my understanding as to why does it take so long to improve the basics. The ruling politicians must have lived the same life sometime in the past. Don’t they want to improve the life of fellow citizens?” Katilkar says that birth control should be the top priority. He says, “When it is getting increasingly difficult to provide resources to those existing, any addition to this shall make the things worse. Water is a lifeline and it is impossible to exist in its absentia. Constructive steps must be taken to make this resource easily available.”

Mokhada is very active during elections and monsoon. The tall promises made in the party manifestos lose their way in the five-year term only to reappear in the next manifesto. In the month of November 2018, the opposition parties had called for a bandh (strike) in Mokhada demanding it to be declared ‘drought affected’ to get additional funds from the state government. The protest was held because Vikramgad tehsil is declared as ‘drought affected’ leaving out Jawhar and Mokhada. People allege that Vishnu Savara, Minister of Tribal Development has ignored Mokhada as he doesn’t have a voter base in this tehsil.

Recently, the Government of India celebrated the electrification of all villages in India.  Around 40 kilometres from Mokhada is a village named Amale which gets disconnected from the tehsil in the rainy season as the adjacent river floods and there is no bridge. In the other parts of the year, the villagers, swim and walk to crossover. Last year eight children died in the village due to malnutrition. The village was helped with solar electricity by some NGOs but things have not moved further due to lack of funds. Mokhada has its own idiosyncrasy. It doesn’t fight just hunger and poverty, Mokhada fights politics too.

Why Demonetisation didn't work?

The country witnessed the second anniversary of demonetization some four months back. As done in the past, the opposition labelled it a 'scam' calling it a 'disaster' while the government battled hard to justify it with the help of statistics. Though nothing substantial has come out to term it a scam but opposition is justified in calling it a disaster. After two years of its implementation, it may be inferred that it was a failure in a sense that it didn't meet its intended objective. Though, the exercise did see an increase in tax compliance and tax collection, it remains a short-term achievement. It doesn't lead us to conclude that these tax payers would continue to do the same in the future. So, what was expected from this exercise? How far was that achieved?

After demonetization was announced, the nation was in panic. Media didn't help initially and created chaos. Poor and illiterate people believed that their hard-earned money was lost. It took some time to realize that old currency notes were being replaced by the new ones. People didn't understand the entire exercise. They were oblivious of the procedure followed by the revenue authorities post their notes were deposited in their bank accounts; many still are. However, many thought that with that one decision the rich have become poor and many would be behind the bars for holding black money. This was their desired outcome. But any sane educated mind would have said that it was not practical for obvious reasons. It is pertinent to note that, howsoever clean the intention of the government may be, this decision didn't change the mindset of the people overnight. People developed means to legalise their black money. There were agents who exchanged the old notes against the new keeping thirty percent as their commission. So, the culprits bypassed the banking system. Moreover, the cash was converted into monetised forms like RTGS transfers and gold by officials of various banks and the Reserve Bank of India. The officials were arrested later. There were many Non-Banking Financial Companies which accepted cash in a deliberate attempt to help the offenders which drew the attention of RBI resulting in the cancellation of their licenses but some damage was already done.

Old Rs. 1000 notes were replaced by new Rs. 2000 notes

Source: Google Images

But what about those who have deposited cash in the bank accounts? How will they be penalised for tax evasion? The demonetisation period would be under income tax assessment in the next year. The income tax return for the year under consideration had a requirement in this regard. Every assessee was expected to disclose the amounts deposited in his/her respective bank accounts if the aggregate deposits exceeded Rs. 2,50,000/-. Later, the income tax department was expected to issue notices to such assessees seeking explanation for the deposits made (to initiate income tax assessment, the notices must have been issued way back). Any explanation which lacks substance and found to be ingenuine would be subjected to interest and penalty. The penalty could be anywhere between 100 to 300 percent of the undisclosed income. This implies that the offenders are expected to pay tax more than what the money they had deposited. But where does it end? An assessee may not oblige to the order of the revenue. An appeal would be made against the order to Commissioners of Income Tax (Appeals) followed by Income Tax Appellate Tribunals and then High Courts. This is a time-consuming exercise. Also, it is pertinent to note that Income Tax Act is a civil law with prosecution being a part of the Act but rarely used. Also, any prosecution proceeding can be initiated only with the prior permission of Principal Chief Commissioner/Principal Director General of Income Tax which would lead to a new series of litigation.

New notes of the denomination Rs. 500 and Rs. 2000

Source: Google Images

Demonetisation was more of a perception battle. The government received appreciation in the initial days of this exercise but with the passage of time, people started getting impatient. It was difficult to believe that no politician and no prominent businessman was jailed for holding black money. Also, many businesses got hit but the big fishes escaped. The small and medium sector remained affected for a long time. The small traders sold goods on credit keeping a track of the receivables. It was only after a year or so, when the cash was back in the system the business regained its position. The real estate market collapsed. The builders were left with no cash to pay for the labour. Many laborers were left unemployed for long. The rural India faced the major brunt as in the absence of banks in the vicinity, villagers travelled far to deposit cash. Also, the villagers relied entirely on cash and they were left with no business. The tall claims made by the Prime Minister about Demonetisation affecting terrorism and left-wing extremism can't be easily found out. Moreover, the sight of long queues and the inconvenience which people faced do not seem to fade so easily. People wanted concrete results. They were under the impression that offenders would be either jailed for the wrongdoings or go bankrupt. The intricacies of law would not be appreciated by them. The corruption in the Income Tax Department and other law enforcement agencies is not unknown. Managing such cases by bribing officials would make the task easy. It is practically impossible to strengthen the surveillance and keep a check on every revenue official. Also, those keeping observation may not be honest as well.  Such complex repercussions are my arguments against demonetisation.

What is for the government in the basket? After this big step, now the government has data with it. It should judiciously use it to catch the serial offenders. After the corporates and traders, professionals evade tax at a massive scale. Doctors, lawyers, chartered accountants make huge earnings in cash but don't disclose the same. Similarly, eateries and roadside vendors (who make massive sales) must be scrutinized for not complying the law. Many such vendors do not even file returns. Local contacts would be of great help. Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) but not credited to the government is another major revenue loss. However, this was not something that is known after demonetisation but now they could be easily traced. Also, now there is information about people filing tax for the first time disclosing heavy income and people who had stashed black money abroad, they should be scrutinized every year to keep them in check.

The demonetisation may have been well intentioned but it was bound to fail in a chaotic democracy like India. The move did offer some pudding and brought many people into the formal economy. It had power to remove the demons of corruption and black money. But it proved to be another source of corruption. Any sagacious government should have done away with this.  It is a lesson to avoid self-goals.        

Kandahar Hijack: Do we have right answers?

The year of 2019 marks the 20th anniversary of Kandahar hijack. Back in 1999, the negotiations resulted in release of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar along with two other terrorists named Omar Saeed Sheikh and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar in exchange of 187 hostages who returned safely to the national capital on the eve of new year. Incidentally, Masood Azhar is the alleged mastermind behind the heinous attack on CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) convoy in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Some media houses have blamed the Vajpayee government for bowing down to the demands of hijackers (in 1999) as Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) continues its terror activities in India. Did the Vajpayee government goof up? Do we have right answers?

Taliban militants in front of the hijacked plane IC 814

Source: Wikipedia

The hijack of Indian Airlines flight IC 814 was not India's first encounter with such a crisis. Around nine such incidents had been witnessed in the past and in almost all of them, either negotiations were reached or the hijackers were killed. However, unlike the past incidents, the hijackers of IC 814 were heavily armed and they were more in numbers. There is no denial that we continue to pay the price for the indecision but there are many facets to it. When the flight was hijacked, the Prime Minister was flying as well and the news reached him when he landed in New Delhi. This delayed the planning. While the pilots of flight IC 814 convinced the hijackers to land at the Amritsar airport, the airport authorities were clueless as they were unprepared to handle such a situation. The message from Crisis Management Group was to keep the aircraft grounded till a team of National Security Guards (NSGs) arrived and the skeptical government didn’t allow the Punjab police to initiate a commando operation fearing casualties. This could be considered as the biggest decision failure as those three quarters of an hour, which the government had at its disposal while the plane was at the Amritsar airport, were wasted. As tensions grew, the hijackers stabbed one of the passengers named Rupin Katyal, who succumbed to injuries, to send the message that they meant business. Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh asked for an oil tanker to block the runway which proved to be of no help as the plane took off for Lahore narrowly missing the tanker.

The plane refueled at the Lahore airport after numerous diplomatic interventions and left for Dubai before finally landing at the Kandahar airport in Afghanistan. By then, the family members and friends of the on-board passengers had started demanding the safe release of hostages. They kept reminding the government of Rubaiyya Sayeed’s (daughter of Mufti Mohammed Sayeed) release against the exchange of terrorists back in 1989. The situation was tense as demands were made to relinquish Kashmir to ensure the safe release of hostages. A war widow and the father of a martyred army officer made a vain attempt of requesting the relatives to not bow down to the demands of hijackers; they were taunted and mocked.

External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh (left) addressing the media in Kandahar;

Masood Azhar (centre) and a Taliban's negotiator look on

Source: Google Images

The government had lost the plot when the plane took off for Lahore. Taliban joined the negotiations in Kandahar and India didn’t receive any support from the international community as the early post-cold war years were very fragile. India had to negotiate with the armed terrorists belonging to the hostile Pakistan and Taliban was new to the world. Any settlement that could have favored India was to release the terrorists. The government took the decision after convening an all-party meeting wherein all  political parties supported the government’s move. Though it was the worst possible settlement but also the best available. If those who made the decision knew then what we know now, would the story of IC 814 have ended differently? Well, there are no right answers.

Visit to Lok Biradari Prakalp, an initiative of Dr. Prakash Amte

The journey was long but comfortable. Mumbai-Nagpur Duronto Express is usually before time at Nagpur. That day was no exception and at 0705 hours, I was outside Nagpur Railway Station. Civic authorities should ensure that the bus stand and railway station are located nearby, rather adjacent. But Nagpur is not fortunate so I walked for 15 minutes to reach the bus stand. Like all State Transport bus stands, Nagpur bus stand is decent with ample shops to cater to travel needs. Now the task was to look out for the bus to Bhamragarh. I was travelling to 'Lok Biradari Prakalp', an initiative of Padmashree Dr. Prakash Amte.

I had searched online that there is only one bus for Bhamragarh from Nagpur and that is scheduled at 1140 hours. Bhamragarh is around 325 kms from Nagpur and Hemalkasa village (Lok Biradari Prakalp) is just three kilometres ahead of Bhamragarh. However, there are some routes and buses which the MSRTC website doesn't show so I enquired about other routes and was informed about this single bus service. Now the alternate route was to take a bus till Allapalli (a village in Aheri Tehsil of Gadchiroli District) and the further distance of 60 kilometres to Hemalkasa to be travelled by a different bus or local jeep. A bus to Aheri was at the stand and the departure time was 0800 hours. 

BILT Paper Products Ltd. - Balharshah

The bus departed on time. The distance till Allapalli is of 275 kms and travel time is around five and a half hours. The ordinary buses of State Transport are painted in red and offer basic cushioned seats. It was May and the summer was at its full swing. First halt was at Jam (a village near Nagpur) followed by Warora which hosts Anandvan (the place where Baba Amte had setup his leprosy mission). The bus moved swiftly on National Highway and reached Chandrapur by 1130 hours. Chandrapur is a district and is known as Black Gold city for its richness in coal mines. The city is just like any other small town in India and the district hosts rich forests. The district is a part of the Red Corridor. Chandrapur is near Ballarpur/Balharshah. Ballarpur is famous for paper mill and coal mines. Western Coalfields Ltd. (subsidiary of Coal India) and Ballarpur Industries Ltd. have their mines and flagship unit respectively. The bus had left the NH and was moving on Chandrapur-Ashti Road which is narrow and has forests on both sides. Gondpipari is a small town on the way. Wainganga river borders the districts of Chandrapur and Gadchiroli. Ashti is a small town in Gadchiroli district which hosts some paper mills. These towns clearly reflect the benefits of industrialization. The next stop was Allapalli.


Allapalli is strategically located. It is the central point of access to all the five talukas of Gadchiroli. It is a village which has a decent marketplace. The bus reached Allapalli around 1345 hours. At the market centre, there were couple of jeeps destined to Bhamragarh. I wasn't aware of the bus timings so decided to take a jeep. The distance from Allapalli to Hemalkasa is 57 kms. and takes roughly two hours. Allapalli is very famous for its forests which are a source of famous Teak Wood. Allapalli forests also host 'Glory of Allapalli' which is a forest patch recognized by the Govt. of Maharashtra having a rich collection of teak trees and rare vegetation.

The road from Allapalli to Hemalkasa is unnamed. In 2016, this road was built under the supervision of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Once you leave Allapalli, the mobile is out of network unless you use BSNL. This region is near the Maharashtra-Chattisgarh border. Naxalite influence is quite heavy and a couple of endeavors of private network providers to establish network towers were thwarted by the Naxalites. This road is narrow but good. Traffic is less for obvious reasons. There are road side villages which define poverty. Permili is a big village on the way. There are some shops that can be seen in Permili and a decent population resides here. A fortnight ago, Naxalites had blocked a small bridge near Perimili village. The message is clear that blockades should not be disturbed as the ambush is certain in such circumstances. Later, CRPF personnel and the local police cleared the road. The fellow commuters in my jeep got down randomly during the journey and made me curious as there were no villages in sight. I was told that the villages are deep inside the forests which could be at a distance of 0.5-8 kms. from the road. So the villagers walk the said distance each time they travel. I reached Hemalkasa around 1600 hours.

Entrance of Lok Biradari Prakalp at Hemalkasa

Source: Google Images

At Maharashtra-Chattisgarh border; the river divides 

Chattisgarh (across the river) and Maharashtra

Lok Biradari Prakalp is at the main road. There is a general store and an ATM of Bank of Maharashtra which matched my guess of being non-operational. The project is widespread and is built on the land given by the Government of Maharashtra back in 1973 to Dr. Amte. I was supposed to meet Mr. Sushant Sawant, the Security Manager of the project. He was having tea in the mess and offered me the same. I preferred coffee. I had a basic conversation with him. He was very welcoming and accommodating. He apprised me of the schedule. I was more curious to discuss the naxal attack which took place a fortnight back at a distance of a kilometre from the project. However, he strictly told me to avoid such sensitive discussions given the surroundings. There are dormitories to cater the guests. The rooms are spacious, clean and basic. Given the geographical difficulties, they have managed the place exceptionally well. I was given an identity card to be worn till the time of my stay. I did see Dr. Prakash Amte as he came out to have a word with some workers. He wore his usual white vest and shorts. I did nothing for good three hours as my phone had no network and neither was I carrying any reading material. I ventured out around 1920 hours for the dinner. I was excited to see Dr. Prakash and Dr. Manda Amte. The mess is quite big and can accommodate 65-70 people at a time. The utensils are kept outside and it is a buffet system. One has to wash the utensils after usage and keep them back. They stress a lot on avoiding wastage of food. And if you acknowledge the efforts they take to provide their services at this remote location, you get extra cautious. I met Sushant and he asked me to join few more guests in the auditorium. I met three visitors in the auditorium. They had come from Nanded but they were here to render their services as volunteers. There was a voluminous album which narrated the story of Lok Biradari Prakalp since 1974. It was gripping and disturbing. The kind of patients and their rare diseases which Dr. Amte and his associates endeavored to cure, there is no surprise he is God to the people around there and he is fondly called 'Bhau'. Later we were joined by an elderly couple from Nasik. And when all had assembled, we were shown a documentary on the work of Dr. Prakash Amte and Dr. Mandatai Amte. It was fascinating. After the documentary ended, Sushant briefed us about next day's schedule.

Confluence of Pamul Gautami, Paralkota and Indravati rivers 

at Bhamragad

I was up by 0530 hours in the morning. It was quiet and serene. Birds were chirping, the sun was rising behind the distant hills and the clear sky was decorated with the captivating colors of orange, blue and light red. Morning couldn't have got better. I set out at 0600 hours walked to Parlkota river. Bhamragarh is on the other side of the river. I ventured further to reach the Triveni Sangam (collusion of three rivers) of Indravati, Pamul Gautami and Parlkota. The rivers host scores of crocodiles. I stood at the Maharashtra-Chattisgarh border. Indravati river acts as the boundary between the two states. In those 30 minutes that I spent there, I also witnessed the burial of a body. Tribals have this tradition of burying the dead and it is a very simple affair. I was battling against time so I rushed back to the project and just managed to reach by 0710 hours. After finishing my daily chores, I had my breakfast of Poha and Coffee.


The meeting with Dr. Amte was scheduled at 0800 hours. Sushant led us to Dr Amte's home and we followed. There is a verendah outside where we sat with Dr. Prakash Amte. We exchanged pleasantries and chatted. Dr. Prakash Amte and Dr. Mandatai Amte are very humble. It was very enlightening to talk to them. They were very happy to see me coming alone from Mumbai. The conversation was for some 30 minutes after which we clicked some photos with Bhau and Tai. Bhau led us to his extended family called 'Amte's Animal Ark'. The way Bhau played with the animals was heartening. So there are crocodiles, hyena, leopard, snakes, tortoises, bears, deer, porcupine, wild squirrels, blue bulls, peacocks whom Dr. Amte had been taking care for years. After feeding and playing with all the animals, Dr. Amte took our leave and asked us to visit the entire Project.

Dr. Amte with leopard and bear

Sushant was very helpful and led us to witness the intricacies of the Project. There is a school along with hostels for boys and girls which imparts coaching from Std. I to XII. A huge playground comprises a gymnasium and a small workstation which hosts a machine that is used to recycle the waste. They have a separate mess for the school children and rules are strict for students. Students are encouraged to use computers. A fully equipped computer lab is at their disposal. The project also hosts quarters for the resident teachers. They also operate a school in distant remote village called 'Nelgunda'. The primary work of Dr. Amte is to provide medical care. They have a well equipped medical clinic cum hospital. The peculiar practice is that they maintain the record of patients from over 200 villages. Considering this humongous task of treating patients for all kinds of diseases, it is a rare feat. Usually there are domain experts in medical field but in Hemalkasa the Amte couple used to be the only doctors until the project expanded and many volunteered their services. With the generation of funds, now the hospital has two operation theatres, sonography and X-Ray machines and an incubator too. Villagers from neighbouring states also visit for their treatment. After the hospital, we witnessed the endless awards and accolades which Dr. Prakash and Dr. Mandatai Amte have received over the years. He has been awarded Padmashree and Ramon Magsaysay as well. The Principality of Monaco issued a postage stamp in honor of Dr. Prakash and Dr. Mandakini Amte in 1995. The project has a shop wherein the handicrafts prepared by the children and locals are on sale. There are books written by Dr. Amte and his associates and many other stuff for household use. It was already 1100 hours. Sushant asked us to have lunch and then we were free to move. I packed my bag and had lunch. The guest couple offered me lift till Chandrapur. I readily accepted the offer.

Dr. Prakash Amte, Dr. Mandakini Amte and myself 

at their residence

At sharp 1300 hours, we departed from Hemalkasa. Life comes to a full circle when you visit such places. The efforts which the entire Lok Biradari Prakalp team has put in is commendable. Perhaps the environment in which Dr. Prakash Amte was born and brought up made him dedicate his life for community service. This initiative of leaving the comfortable life of a doctor and starting something from the scratch amidst the paucity of resources is exemplary. It takes a lot of courage and perseverance to do what Dr. Prakash and Dr. Mandatai Amte have done. Their struggle in the initial days when nobody entertained them and the language barrier they faced, to make people aware of the healthcare and educating them is a tremendous task. This initiative and their services cannot be expressed in words and perhaps that is the reason a movie was made to honour the work of Dr. Amte. I was truly mesmerized by the fantastic work they have done. It was my very great fortune to have met Dr. Prakash and Dr. Mandatai Amte. They have redefined humanity.

P.S.: Here is a link to the website of Lok Biradari Prakalp. One can visit the same and if you wish to donate to this very noble cause, you can do the same online.

http://lokbiradariprakalp.org/index.html

Are Democracy and Freedom compatible?

Academic questions seldom have a simple answer. They are often qualified. There have always been doubts about democracy allowing the passage for all the voices and dissent but there are no clear answers. A keen look into the definition of democracy magnifies the understanding of the topic. Democracy stands for “Rule by People”. Thus, the citizens govern through their elected representatives. However, that’s very theoretical and utopian too. In the practical scenario, where we are existing in cohesion and the resources are limited, we need to go with the majority. Majority doesn’t refer to a religion or sex or creed or caste per se but that set of people who are voting for a political party. This paves the way for the discussion on freedom. The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants is the dictionary meaning of freedom. However, this term has numerous connotations and this a very subjective topic as what may be the freedom for one is just the opposite for others. In a democracy, this is quite relevant as the challenge is to serve all citizens having divergent views.

            It becomes pertinent to note that it is the democracy that gives the freedom to elect our representatives. The democracies across the world provide for fundamental rights and free speech. The right to express one's ideas and opinions freely through speech, writing, and other forms of communication but without deliberately causing harm to others' character and/or reputation by false or misleading statements is ‘freedom of expression’. This leads us to the fact that the freedom of expression may not be absolute and subject to qualifications. There are legitimate reasons for not having absolute freedom of expression as the definition of freedom is relative

            By definition, there should be freedom for the press in democracies which is a rarity. This is where a major question arises about the independence of press in a democracy. However, it must be appreciated that only democracy could provide a free press as other forms would keep it regulated. China and the Middle East countries are examples. Also, the press may be subjected to a reasonable amount of restrictions which would be justified keeping in consideration some sensitive information which may disturb the secular fabric of the society and also prove vital for the hostile countries.

Source: Google Images

              It is often a daunting task to maintain a balance in art and creative works without upsetting a section of society. So, though literary freedom must be encouraged and ensured, one remains unsure as freedom is subjective. There have been incidents wherein the screening of movies was halted, books were torn and literary festivals were disrupted. Though such acts must be condemned but the debate on individual freedom remains. It would be interesting to note the controversy that surrounds any literary art and then statistics could be discussed to gauge the frequency at which the society gets offended. 

            Also, barring few regional specific restrictions, no democracy questions one’s religious beliefs, puts restrictions on the eating and clothing preferences of its citizens.

            However, there are some complex issues which certain countries are yet to address. In India, people do not have a say in their marriages. Though this is more of a cultural issue but there are laws concerning this. So, Article 21 of the Indian Constitution does provide for ‘Right to Marry’ as a fundamental right which is hardly observed in India, though dynamics are changing. Similarly, LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community is fighting for its rights. The Indian Supreme Court did scrap the colonial-era ban on gay sex.  The Muslim women face a lot of discrimination due to the age-old custom of Triple Talaq. The Indian government did do away with Triple Talaq but was heavily criticised. These are some issues, among others, which remain to addressed by certain democracies.

            The inference which could be drawn from the above discussion states that the democracy does promote freedom but faces certain challenges. These could be cultural, disciplinary or simply administrative. Democracy, if strictly adopted, does provide for freedom and dissent. There are some issues which have more to do with administration and culture. Some countries have to mature themselves as democracy to reap its benefits. The above discussion does open doors for many other deliberations but confirms that democracy and freedom remain very much compatible. At the end, it is imperative to quote the Late Winston Churchill, “Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” Those who don’t have democracy, need democracy and those who have democracy, need maturity.