The Tale of two Capitol riots — Washington DC, USA & New Delhi, India
2021 has just begun, so far it’s January, two events have already inducted themselves into history hall of shame. US and India already recorded number one and two respectively in most corona positive cases. In this Corona (Covid-19) era, there was another event which was gripping these biggest democracies, the Protests. On one side it was black right matter protests and the president who lost the democratic election trying to rally his base to overturn the results of the election and other side farmers who wanted their democratic government pull back the three agriculture laws which were rammed through parliament in a democratic process without consultation with the farmers as it contains clauses favorable to large private corporations and interpreted as legal bait to capture their farmlands and livelihood.
US capitol Washington DC, Jan 6th 2021
On this day, the congress (House of Representatives & Senate) meets in a joint session to count electoral votes for the Nov. 3rd 2020 presidential election to certify Joseph Biden Jr. and Kamala Harris as President and Vice President after a well contested election. Throughout the election cycle President Trump has made multiple false claims that the election is rigged and he has won the election. He’s leveraged every last drop of his power as president and as a demagogue to prevent the near-inevitable certification of winning Candidates.
On January 6th, Trump took the stage at his planned Capitol rally around noon, falsely claiming he won the election and arousing his supporters to protest. Thousands of Trump supporters, fueled by his spurious claims of voter fraud, protested the expected certification on the front steps of the Capitol, but the mood would rapidly change. Soon, throngs of people pushed past police who were trying to block them from entering the building as lawmakers inside debated counting electoral college votes confirming Biden’s victory. A mob was able to breach security and successfully enter the building, taking over the senate and house of representative offices causing damage to federal properties, injuries to guards and loss of life. Various accounts on social media, personal videos and videos captured by the closed circuit cameras are being investigated by authorities to find the rioters and their links with insider officials and representatives who supported them. Congress has started the impeachment trial for the outgoing President on the suspicion of instigating a coup. Whatever the outcome may be the event has permanently registered in history.
India capital New Delhi, 26th January
India was celebrating its 72nd Republican Day, a national day to honor the Constitution which came into effect in 1950 post independence. A number of groups of farmers have been protesting against the recently passed agriculture laws which are interpreted as favorable to private traders and large corporations who have always been eyeing to take over India’s food supply chain. The peaceful protests have been happening since the last four months in various north Indian states and moved to the Delhi border about 60 days ago as it’s a federal law.
Farmers unions decided to hold a peaceful tractor rally on this day to showcase their unity and make the country aware of their plight, asking the government to take back those laws. Government conditionally allowed the rally as long as they obey the designated routes. Clashes broke out in New Delhi between the farmers and national police. Believing to the claims by the farmers, the pre-decided routes were blocked by barricades and when they tried to clear their routes tear gas and sound grenades were rained upon them. Also, an unknown fraction suddenly appeared to everyone’s astonishment at the national heritage Red Fort vandalizing and hosting some unknown flags which deemed anti-national. During these rallies, videos have emerged where police trying to beat protestors with sticks and farmers threw stones and drove tractors toward the police.
Post facto analysis of the situation by media and farmers union leaders shows that the authoritarian government was not prepared for such rallies, the blockage of pre-decided protest routes were done to induce the violence in the four month long peaceful protest to malign the farmers. A number of farmer and media sources reported that the Red Fort takeover was done by a rogue element close to the ruling party to defame the farmers and their protest. While the government and authorities are juggling to justify their stance, farmers’ movement saw its low and trying to regain its strength to pressurize the government in taking the laws back. The dark events on the national day cannot be erased from history.
Conclusion
The US and India are the world’s two largest democracies, one developed another developing nation, while the two dark events tarnished their images. What the world saw is even in democracy, popular government’s can function as authoritarian and anarchist. The silver lining is the power of people who are ready to fight for their rights and ready to dissent, at the end the democracy wins. In the US the newly elected President has been sworn in and taken the charge, whereas in India the farmers have reignited their spirit making the movement stronger then it has been.
