Hijacked Democracy: Part 1
They don’t want to attack your country. They don’t want to bomb you. You are up against yourself. Fight against unseen forces. Fight your beliefs. Fight your ethics. Question yourself. Question your idea. Devalue your faith. Consider your ancestorial struggles as a betrayal. You will be made ashamed of yourself. Game Over.
We are expecting a war with them at our borders or some no man’s land. They have already trespassed in our country, our system and are destroying our pillars from within. We expected an external, direct, man-to-man war. Strengthened our reach, strengthened our defense, made ourselves invincible from outside forces. Sadly, we forgot to strengthen our inside forces.
The clarity of their strategy did wonders. They from their past mistakes didn’t hit us from the outside, this time, they got us bleeding, wounded from the inside. Hiring our own brothers and sisters who are serving as their army, some knowingly many unknowingly. Viciously moving toward their next goal at the speed of light.
We are lagging behind. All we know is their Ultimate Goal. Kill a man, genocide a race, the idea lives. Kill the idea, the race goes extinct. It is the war of IDEA. Ideology. Implementing one’s idea to the rest of the world. Can we save ourselves?
Who are we? We are the DEMOCRACY. And we are being Hijacked….
From the oldest, to the largest, to the newest, and to the best, we were all un-consciously living in a HIJACKED DEMOCRACY. It’s time to regain the GLORY back…
Toolkit to Hijacked Democracy
Nothing is perfect in this creation. Democracy has loopholes. That’s its beauty. That’s its weakness. They know exactly how to exploit it. They have their own ways. The democracy’s assassins use the very institutions of democracy—gradually, subtly, and even legally—to hijack it.
Sam :- Using diplomacy, giving offers, mutual understanding, barter to gain your need and in return give him what he wants.
Dam :- Using the Money to buy people within a nation. The powerful the better.
Dandh :- Using politics to corner it, threaten it, create internal tensions or direct war.
Bhed :- Using the physical or cultural differences and create a divide. Exploit the weaknesses. Communal violence.
Self-Goal
The hijacking of democracy also occurs when the system of checks and balances malfunctions or completely ceases to function. When that happens, when balance becomes imbalance and checking becomes no-checking, corruption, oppression, and inefficiency become the hallmarks of governmental conduct. The Leader’s will to stay in power makes things worse. They would go on an extent, to save their Chair by hijacking the democracy.
This is quite common in weaker democracies or nations where Democracy doesn’t suit. Reasons could be many, but mainly identified are as follows:
- Nation is majorly illiterate- Afghanistan.
- Nation is driven by religious fanaticism- Iraq, and other Islamic states.
- No or less governing expertise, corrupt system- most of the former colonial countries in Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Philippines, and others alike.
- Nations prone to a civil war- Libya.
Unfortunately, most of the western countries appear to be lunatics in this regard. They tried to force democracy into them and now look at the state they are in.
If you think top democracies won’t have similar issues, you are wrong. Time and time again we have witnessed some Lunatic Leader desperate in trying to save his/her chair pulling up stunts trying to Hijack the Democracy. While some succeeds other fails.
How strong of an idea is Democracy? The best of them. It only needs 1 Leader’s wish to remain in power. That’s it. The walls will tumble.
Notable Examples:
India – Emergency in 1975
Indira’s wish to remain in power-
Once upon a time in India 43 years ago, in 1975, the nation saw its demolishing era since Independence when then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi called for an emergency to be declared across the country. The emergency was issued by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352(1) of the Constitution. They termed it as “internal disturbance” that lasted 21 long months beginning 25th June 1975 and going on until 21st March 1977.
Arguably the toughest time for the citizens of the country. This was the third national emergency (first one was in 1962 when China invaded India while the second one was in 1971 during the war with Pakistan), and the only one to be declared citing of “internal disturbances”.
USA – capitol hill, 2021
Trump’s desire to remain in power-
On January 6, while the U.S. Congress was going through the last part of the presidential election, protestors suddenly broke into the U.S. Capitol, all work was suspended, and four intruders and a guard died in the riot. This three-hour occupation of Congress became a disgrace to the United States.
The protestors were later labeled as Donald Trump supporters. They stormed Capitol Hill and attempted to halt the counting of Electoral College votes, which show a victory for Democrat Joe Biden.
This was the first instance in 200 years of its breach since 1814, when a British force destroyed multiple buildings, including the President’s mansion, in the US capital in an event known as the ‘Burning of Washington’.
The Hard way
The hijackers can be outspoken community leaders, pseudo messiahs, dominant shareholders in public companies, radical cable-news commentators, social media activists, religious ideological zealots and political firebrands who assemble power and fame to exert disproportionate influence that shapes and dominates the issues, often counter to the will of most stakeholders.
They hunt in packs. One attacks your legs, other to your hands, a perfect mixed-tagged attack. For if, if, a case is filed against the act, it should look like an attack by a group of oppressed, derived off basic rights, frustrated citizens that the System ignores who finally took things in their own hands. The template remains the same.
They reorganize our reality around narrow, simplistic slogans and fights that fit their world: New reforms, Critical Race Theory, Fossil Fuels, Climate change, Defund the Police, and other varied (nation-wise) issues.
They put us in reactive, reductionist mode when we need to be in strategic, creation mode. Once we fall into that hole, it is very hard to work our way back up and out.
The top democracies face these issues. India is their hot target now. They just can’t let you grow. The sudden start of the protest, then going violent, and sudden abrupt end to it, is alarming. The template is the same everywhere. Go check it for yourself. (More on this in the next)
Protests going wild is the modern toolkit vs Democracies. The govt would have no way to deal with these situations. They would not talk it out, neither a force could be used. Democracy is saving the citizens not killing them. The crowd pulls up stunts that are un-imaginable otherwise in a civilized society. The other reason why the govt won’t act is the fear of losing power. Also, to mention, the fear of making the situation worse, or out of hand pushing it beyond repair.
Civil war is the biggest threat to a civilized society. We as citizens should buckle up our consciousness to keep the fire in check. Govt can’t deal with these forces alone. For if they do, We, the same civilized society will call them Dictatorship, and that exactly is what they want. We can’t play out in their hands.
But this requires a fully operational system with abundant manpower to instantly organize, mobilize, smooth flow of funds, and political support, creating an ecosystem, and many miscellaneous and strenuous tasks.
So basically, they need to create a system of non-governmental organized groups and institutions, and at least to some extents which are self-generating and self-reliant (to hoax the govt). This could of course include independent mass media, think tanks, universities, and social and religious groups.
Wait. Wait. Isn’t that a definition of Civil Society? We got no problem with the Nobel “Civil Society” but with the widespread “Un-Civil Society”. Whether civil society groups are motivated either by bald self-interest or a more enlightened sense of altruism, in the end, it matters.
To be part of civil society, groups must meet some other conditions as well. In a real democracy, civil society groups should show respect for the law, portray themselves as the savior and protector for the rights of individuals, voice-of-voiceless for the rights of other groups to express their interests and opinions.
Civil society: The fire that can warm could also burn
Good
Watch on how state officials use their powers. Raise a public concern about any abuse of power. To expose the corrupt conduct of public officials and lobby for good governance reforms.
NGOs can also help develop citizens’ skills to work with one another to solve common problems, to debate public issues, and express their views.
Civil society organizations can help to develop the other values of democratic life: tolerance, moderation, compromise, and respect for opposing points of view.
We have outstanding examples of NGOs that have cultivated these values.
Bad
Putting one’s nose in every issue with a vested propaganda. Civil society is independent of the state doesn’t mean that it must always criticize and oppose the state. In fact, a vigorous civil society strengthens citizens’ respect for the state and promotes their positive engagement with it.
A democratic state cannot be stable unless it is effective and legitimate, with the respect and support of its citizens. Civil society is a check, a monitor, but also a vital partner in the quest for this kind of positive relationship between the democratic state and its citizens.
But unfortunately, In the quest of serving their master they wouldn’t think twice before creating a ruckus.
Ugly
The world of Civil Societies is alleged to be a shady mix of exploitation and corruption, disguising itself underneath a pious garb of human rights and humanitarian concerns. The desire to Make a living instead of standing with the basic values among Civil Societies, soon it turned into, Un-Civil Society.
Apart from serving as extended arms of the ‘Red Eyed Powers’, in their bid to undermine the sovereignty of other countries, Civil Societies are known to be riddled with numerous vices of their own. Ranging from misguiding public; fake narration building; misuse of courts, govt, system; and a whole lot of ‘pea-sized’ dark, NGOs.
World stats:
There are an estimated 10 million NGOs worldwide. 3.3 million in India alone, which means we have approximately one NGO for every 400 Indians. Woah!
There are more than 600,000 NGOs in Australia, employing 8% of Australian workforce. However, only 60,000 of these NGOs are registered with the ACNC (Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission). Great!
If it were a Country, it would have the 5th largest economy. Rub your eyes. Yes!
Where there is Money there is Corruption, where there is corruption there is Politics, where there is politics there is interests, where there is interest there is Exploitation. A civil society turns out as Un-Civil Society.
Or, where there is a scope of exploitation, there needs to be an interest, where there is interest there is politics, where there is Politics, there is corruption, where there is corruption there is Money. An un-civil society is created.
The surge insuch Un-civil society is alarming. There are NGOs accused of direct “ties to terrorism” worldwide. Their suspicious involvement ranges from foreign funding, fund misappropriation, tax fraud, spreading communal disharmony, drugs abuse, money laundering and many more yet unknown to common people like you and me. (I am hearing about child trafficking which I am not quite sure.)
Ajit Doval rightly says: “it is the civil society that can be subverted, divided and manipulated “to hurt the interest of the nation,” with new frontiers of war.”
A most recent case:
The GOI had found suspicious funding from US-based Ford Foundation. On investigation, it was found involved in interfering or trying to manipulate the internal affairs of India, and also abetting communal disharmony, through an NGO (Citizens for Justice and Peace) run by Social Activist Teesta Setalvad. Teesta is arrested recently. A case of fund misappropriation is also ongoing.
A significant one:
UK-based, Amnesty International, was accused of having links with the Taliban. Amnesty International is also accused of allying with radical Islamic fundamentalists, and it was not surprising that Amnesty had decided to side with the Jihadists on the Kashmir issue. In 2019, it had started a global campaign in defense of Jihad in Kashmir.
Gita Sahgal, the then head of the gender unit at Amnesty’s international secretariat, going public in 2010, had reportedly condemned the Organization for collaborating with Moazzam Begg. In an email sent to Amnesty’s top bosses, she suggests the charity has mistakenly allied itself with Begg and his “jihadi” group, Cageprisoners, out of fear of being branded racist and Islamophobic.
Sahgal describes Begg as “Britain’s most famous supporter of the Taliban”. He has championed the rights of jailed Al-Qaeda members and hate preachers, including Anwar al-Awlaki, the alleged spiritual mentor of the Christmas Day Detroit plane bomber.
Civil societies are like a fire. You can use fire to both warm your house and burn it down. You can’t ban fire, and you can’t stop some people from committing arson. What we need is firefighters and fire-safety equipment.
Tech Mafia and Social Media: the dark side of Humanity
There exists advantages and disadvantages of social media in democracy. Sadly, disadvantages have surpassed the advantages. How can social media be a threat to democracy? Well….
Want to see the real face of the society? Give them a mask. The Social Medium’s biggest boon turns up to be the darkest curse.
It is no longer a secret that Social Media platforms stores your data. The (I, we, they) phones we use easily gain access to your personal info, location, and anything that they can spy. The apps mainly Chinese apps steal your data back to China. The Chinese phone and other service providers are accused worldwide of spying, stealing, and storing your data. Beware.
The data it collects is being sold to various good, bad and worst companies thereby making your data prone to mishandling. The company uses the data to predict your behavior and work it up against you. Ads, phishing, spyware and dedicated hacking are some consequences.
Your data makes you vulnerable. Your opinion and choices might fit to their propaganda. Then with little help, you could easily be misguided. Imagine a man or woman of your age walks up to you and he/she seems to have shared the same opinions to yours, you are mates straightaway, right? Viola, they recruited their army.
Dark Side of Social Media
social media and democracy-
Social Media has been used in a manner that can create both stability and chaos within regions. Twitter has also arguably become an authoritative vehicle for persuasion. Quite often, crazy ideas, lies, and conspiracy theories spread more rapidly than facts through social media. Subsequently, by the time information is fact-checked, the damage is already done and remains irreversible.
For instance, the Pizzagate conspiracy theory, where Michael Flynn Jr. (the son of fired National Security Agency director Michael Flynn) tweeted a false story about Hilary Clinton and her campaign manager being involved in a child sex ring. Unfortunately, the tweet led to a man who believed the theory entering the pizza parlor mentioned in the tweet with a rifle and firing shots before being arrested.
Moreover, Twitter can greatly influence two-party dominated elections such as those in the US, UK and Australia, where prominence is sited on the support for one political leader over another.
For example, it has been reported that tweets for Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump by party loyalists using sock puppetry or bots at one point stood at 20% and 33%, respectively. Similar results were found in the 2013 Australian federal elections, where large numbers of fake Twitter followers were found for both the incumbent prime minister and the leader of the opposition.
It was reported that fake news such as the claim that Pope Francis endorsed Donald Trump and that Hilary Clinton sold weapons to ISIS received a significant level of attention or engagement when compared to real news
In regard to terrorist coercion, for instance, the ISIS terrorist group has been linked to setting up thousands of fake Twitter accounts to recruit individuals.
Mask Unveiled:
I don’t trust big News portals and their larger to life Journos, Influencers and Celebrities anymore. In 2021 weekday prime-time cable viewership dropped 38% at CNN, 34% at Fox and 25% at MSNBC according to Nielsen. Broadcast television evening news fared better but still saw a 12% decline at ABC and CBS and 14% at NBC. Online engagement of political articles was down nearly two-thirds.
In India, the overall TV viewership of News channels dropped heavily. Also, the rise of the Republic network and the decline of other previously hailed news outlets like NDTV show a similar worldwide trend. This represents the audience had enough of fake narratives being told and the news anchors sounding more like a political spokesperson rather than just Journalist.
The negative impact of media on democracy.
That is for traditional media and for SM platforms, there are Pseudo Fact Checkers and Fake news Peddlers. Then there are bots.
According to PBS NewsHour, bots can be purchased very cheaply and as a result, they become a critical tool to influence political movement and manipulate metrics. Furthermore, it is hard to verify messages that bots distribute versus messages from a real person.
The danger, however, is that millennials get their news through social media platforms and often from friends, family or social media influencers, they are less likely to do due diligence in questioning the authenticity of the news. The sheer number of likes or retweets is likely to convince individuals of the need to subscribe or act even when such ideas may be false or half-truth.
For instance, a clipped video out of a detailed interview. Just like the recent case of Nupur Sharma’s statement being spread as Blasphemy by an SM influencer named Md Zubair. The half-truth is more deadly than a fake news.
The Brahmastra of the Hijack Gang: Communal Angle
Empower the Monkeys
When you mix religion with politics, you get only chaos. Once it was the case with the White supremacist, Aryans and Christians assuming themselves as the best and finest on the quest to Colonize and Civilize the already civilized. Their divide and rule theory causing the natives to kill each other. The hate seed was planted and the effect and impact could still be felt.
Many countries suffered, burnt and are still burning. The same trick is being used to haunt them back. 9/11 was just the beginning a statement that the fortress could be breached. Check it out, since the western modern imperialist, capitalist move the Islamic Terrorism has only increased. It was confined within their walls. Now, entire world is their playground. Salman Rushdie’s example is the best one, the monkeys don’t forget, neither forgive, nor we can put an end to them.
The monkeys are empowered, taken care of well, and backed by the institutions that once was ours. This serves as the Brahmastra, a nuclear weapon, for the hijackers. They fund the ones that call themselves the Book Keeper, and then use the Book to lure people in the name of God and religion to create the intensity of Chaos they want.
Justify the Monkeys
First, the so-called pillar of Democracy, Media, and Celebs tries to hide up the issue or try to play it down. If a victim is of a specific religion, they would go crazy, even taking out processions and social media campaigns, with the hashtag ISLAMOPHOBIA on rise. If the victim doesn’t suit their agenda, if he is some other religion mainly Hindu, they will simply play it low or in the worst case wouldn’t air about it.
In case of Islamic terrorism, they cry their lungs out stating what humans have become, ‘terrorism has no religion’ – the most common phrase in the condemnation. Also using terms like – radicals, and religion-based outfits, but rare would write it out as Islamic Jihadist doing what is being asked of them, what is taught to them. This sums up their hypocrisy. Their infidel minds would allow them to assume the audience are as stupid and of low IQ then their clients are.
Yeats rightly said- the best lack all conviction, the worst are full of passionate intensity.
In the next one, we will try to decode some instances in history where we felt what it’s like living in a “Hijacked Democracy”. Then, we will discuss if they are mere coincidences, or part of a toolkit, The common traits.
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