Jaya, jaya he: This 26 January, public is reclaiming the Republic

This 26th January, the public is fittingly taking charge of the Republic.

The proposed tractor rally by farmers on the outskirts of Delhi in support of their demand for repealing farm laws will reiterate a lesson that was forgotten through decades of misrepresentation: the Republic is owned by the public, and the Republic Day is a celebration of people-power.

This precept of democracy was first distorted and then inverted over the years to turn R-Day into a celebration of the government’s power, both military and administrative, and the people were reduced to mere spectators of this parodic razzmatazz that bored almost everyone to sleep. With a bit of luck and pluck, the narrative might change this year.

And, it is about time. For, today India needs more than ever in its history that real power be restored to people, and taken away from the government and its auxiliary institutions.