As we lurch to the close of a singularly dismal year that rounds off a horrid decade, one is filled with a sense of despondency at the relentless diminution of our democracy and the very real prospect of remaining interminably in the grip of an arrogant majoritarian regime. It is such a savage irony that only last year, we thought we had barely escaped the tyrant’s noose owing to the unexpectedly bullish performance of the INDIA alliance in the Lok Sabha election. It had given a flicker of hope that we would get back our vibrant, chaotic democracy, but it was a false dawn!For many like me, if the unanticipated facile wins of the NDA in the Maharashtra, Haryana and Delhi Assembly elections were deeply disheartening, the staggering sweep of the ruling coalition in the recent Bihar election clearly signals the endgame – the rout of democracy and all its constituent elements.Just to rub it in, there was the thumping victory of the NDA in the Maharashtra local body polls and even more troubling, the BJP’s success in the prestigious Thiruvananthapuram Corporation election, ending the LDF’s four-decade long hold on Kerala’s most important local body which a gloating PM unerringly described as a “watershed moment in Kerala politics.” The once impregnable ‘final frontier’ holding up the saffron wave has been prised open.We still have the trappings of a democracy but that’s about it. Parliament, aptly described by John Diefenbaker as “the custodian of the nation’s freedom” and defined by the inclusiveness of its dialogue that reflects the collective will of the people, is now a travesty. The tyrant and his minions have ruthlessly gamed the system to impose their will and dubious policies on the polity, disdainfully upending parliamentary convention and etiquette, prioritising power over truth and deliberative consultation.The Parliament session earlier this month demonstrated beyond a doubt that our supreme legislative body is a caricature of the real thing. Take the discussion on electoral reforms. Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Opposition, raised critical issues regarding the skewed procedure for the selection of Election Commissioners, “vote chori” and the flawed SIR on account of which hundreds of thousands of citizens had been disenfranchised.In response, Amit Shah, dripping arrogance and incivility, shrugged off these very valid concerns of the people with the absurd throwaway line that “As Election Commission doesn’t work under Government, SIR can’t be discussed in this House”. Over and out! All the demands of the Opposition were similarly ignored or rejected. The life-threatening issue of air pollution was not even discussed.The government rammed through legislation of the gravest import for the country without proper consultation or scrutiny. These included the most radical, far-reaching Insurance Amendment Bill, that permits 100 percent FDI, and the SHANTI Bill which opens up civil nuclear energy to private players with hardly any sureties demanded.Of course, the most catastrophic piece of legislation bulldozed through Parliament in replacement of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) that provided succour for the millions of rural dispossessed was the Viksit Bharat G RAM G Bill that waters down the scope of the employment guarantees and the Centre’s liability, thereby confirming this regime’s scant regard for the poor of this country. It is also important to note the symbolism in the replacement of Mahatma Gandhi’s name with that of Ram. By replacing the icon of secular humanism with that of a revered Hindu god, the messaging was clear: this is a land of and for the Hindus. Lord Ram himself would object to the abuse of his name to dignify a project that not only erases the name of his most ardent bhakt but is also detrimental to the interests of the rural poor.Something terrible has happened to us as a society that has corroded our national character, our community culture and humanity. The murderous hate and distrust between communities has spiralled out of control, fomented by a dangerous and formidable cultural outfit and its political surrogate. Hindutva’s gospels of belligerent forced homogeneity and exclusion have settled in the innards of the nation. The bureaucracy, the law-enforcement agencies, the mainstream media, and most frightening of all, the judiciary – have become choirboys of the saffron ensemble.The judiciary is now a den of iniquity. How else does one explain the suspending of the life sentence for the rapist, Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the Unnao rape case (mercifully stayed by the Supreme Court) and the interminable incarceration of conscientious objector and social activist, Umar Khalid? At his retirement function, former Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai waxed eloquent about his judgment (purportedly against the regime) proscribing the use of bulldozers without due process. What he didn’t mention was that despite his brave decree, illegal demolitions continued apace but he looked the other way!Minorities are no longer safe in this country. Of a besieged lot, Muslims are clearly the forsaken! Short of being burnt at the stake, every possible atrocity and indignity have been inflicted on its members during the last decade. Outside their ghettoes, they are met with suspicion and hostility. Matters have come to such a pass that even Muslim children are made conscious of their otherness and the need to be on their guard. A school principal narrated instances of Muslim girls being mocked by their peers with the “Jai Shri Ram” chant. Where Muslims are concerned, there is now a dangerous brotherhood of animosity among Hindus that cuts across class, castes and age groups.Ideology is the inspirational force and guide for good and evil. According to VD Savarkar, the ideologue of the bigots, the foundational basis of Hindutva is that only that only those who regard India as their pitrabhumi (fatherland) and punyabhumi (holy land) are integral to the nation, which disqualifies Muslims and Christians too. It is the implacable hostility toward the minorities that is the fountainhead and lifeblood of Hindutva.A society that is amnesic is being fed the myth by closet ‘Hindutva-vadis’ that but for the recent shocking incidents of violence and intimidation against Christians by ‘fringe Hindu elements’ across the north-Indian states, Christians are generally treated with respect and dignity as equal citizens. That’s unadulterated nonsense! Have we forgotten the hundreds of fabricated cases and violence against Christians on allegations of forced conversion, many still languishing in jail; the growing trend of local groups preventing burial of Christians on village land; the frequent organised disruption of Christian religious gatherings; the cancellation of the FCRA licences of most Christian organisations? All this is happening with impunity because of a nod and a wink from above!Which is why most Christians were infuriated by the fawning obeisance of the Christian higher clergy during the televised visit of Modi to the Cathedral Church in Delhi for the Christmas service with BJP’s point man for Kerala, Rajeev Chandrashekhar in tow. In his sermon, the bishop referred to him as the “the Prince of Peace” instead of the more appropriate original metaphor “the Prince of Darkness”. The political messaging couldn’t have been more brazen than what was displayed that smog-filled wintry morning. Instead of publicly denouncing and ordering the arrest of the bigots and vandals who desecrated churches and assaulted Christians, the PM, in signature two-faced style, prayed in a church to inveigle the Christian voters in Kerala, the North-East and elsewhere while his foot soldiers wreaked havoc against Christians outside.Is there any hope for the future? In a recent piece titled “Is India a Democracy?”, Rajmohan Gandhi lays bare India’s continued persecution of Muslims but ends on a hopeful note by citing the case of a Hindu businessman, Kuldip Sharma of Jammu coming to the aid of his Muslim neighbour, an intrepid journalist, whose house had been demolished by the government. In turn, an anonymous Kashmiri businessman donated prime land valued at at Rs 10 million to Kuldeep Sharma for his act of humanity.In Rajmohan Gandhi’s reckoning, that demonstration of humanity proved that “polarisation and supremacy are not the natural wish of the Indian people.” My dear Sir, to use the hackneyed phrase, one swallow does not a summer make! Today’s India is a fraught ecosystem where the disruptors of democracy and communal harmony hold full sway with the support of the dominant majority.The writer is a former civil servant. The views are personal.A version of this piece was first published on The India Cable – a premium newsletter from The Wire – and has been updated and republished here. To subscribe to The India Cable, click here.