Characterization

 

Eight years of a regime 

Ruined every social fabric of a nation

Destroying the pillars of a nation 

With a brute majority in electoral democracy

The opposition voices are stifled with the 

Overreaching arms of the government

A witch-hunting of epic proportions 

Even the courts play fiddle to the government

The compromised media give characterisations

To the rebel voices in favour of the government 

Those new media are characterized as Godi media

The social media cell of the ruling party target 

rebel voices with false narration and maligning campaigns 

The female rebel voices get rape threats and character assassination

The voices that question the government are characterized as 

anti-nationals, Urban Naxals, and  tukde-tukde gang 

The journalists who report against the government 

Lose their jobs and they get haunted by fictitious charges

Even court interventions don't give enough relief 

Social activists who work for the rights of the people

They are characterized as villains and they are jailed

With sedition charges that make it difficult to get bail

The tribals are stripped of right over their lands 

Haunted by armed forces and characterized as maoists 

Rationalists were shot dead for campaigning against 

the superstitions and other blind faiths that affect people

The NGOs that work among the poor are characterized as 

money launderers and they lost their right to get foreign funds

Amnesty International is banned in my country and you can

Imagine the plight of the right activists right now 

Many RTI activists have been killed or face a threat

Kashmiries were stripped of their privileges and oppressed  

They're characterized as Pakistani sympathizers  

Things related to Muslims are characterized as jihad, 

ranging from love jihad, UPSC jihad to Halal Jihad

There are hundreds of Muslims living in detention centres

characterized as illegal migrants by the government  

Not to mention the characterization of them as beef eaters

And being lynched in the name of possessing beef or for being Muslims

The students who protested against the citizenship bill were 

beaten up ruthlessly and got jailed on serious charges

The farmers who fought against farm laws were 

characterized as Khalistani supporters  until they won 

Hundreds of youth were beaten up for seeking jobs 

Criminals wearing saffron are characterized as patriots 

My own brethren were compared as Somalians by the premier 

The government characterises political opponents as economic offenders

The followers of an ideology that stayed away from the freedom struggle 

Characterizes themselves as the nationalists and they try to impose 

Their beliefs on the large population from different cultural heritage 

The vegetarians who support the government are trying to impose 

Vegetarianism on meat-eaters with the characterization of sinners

There is a characterization of Hindi as a national language

Though it is only an official language and there is the imposition

of Hindi on non-Hindi speaking states through government policies 

The characterization of Dalits as people of lower strata 

They face atrocities in the form of rape and octraisation 

Now there is an us versus them narrative from the government 

Letting real economic offenders escape from the country 

And stop the people who can speak against them from visiting 

Other countries 

This poem is based on a monthly journal prompt from #anneapart. *tukde- pieces or splintering *jihad-the spiritual struggle within oneself against sin. *Godi- lap. This poem has a political tone as I am not oblivious to what I see in my country. Image from iStock. Thank you :)