In these super charged times of ideological warfare coloured with religious prejudice, many readers would be tempted to read the "headline" in a different contexts so let me make it clear: when I talk of the tyranny of the minority, I am not talking about Muslims and Christians. Of course, the whole ideological debate over the so called rise and rise of intolerance in India is based on the premise of what a "secular" analyst has termed as "coercive majoritarianism".
The logic is: Hindus constitute a majority in India and if they seek to impose their religious, social and cultural ethos on others, it amounts to both coercive majoritarianism and intolerance. No arguments with that. But often missed in these noisy debates is a stark reality of modern democracies: that of "coercive minorityism" or the tyranny of the minority. Often, a well organized and vocal minority succeeds in imposing its views on a society or nation; no matter what the majority opinion is. Let me give you five examples that span the United States and India, starting with two examples from America.
1) The Gun Culture In America: There have been 356 mass shootings in the United States just in 2015. The latest one in San Bernardino in California resulted in 14 deaths. Each time there is an incident like this, Americans react with horror and outrage. President Barack Obama delivers a moving speech. People gather for prayers. And there is always a growing chorus of sane voices that demand stricter gun control laws. But that demand is ignored till the next mass shooting happens. Repeated surveys and opinion polls have indicated that between 70 per cent to 80 per cent of Americans are in favour of stricter gun control laws. And yet, no such laws are passed. That is because a minority of Americans represented by the superbly organized National Rifle Association has used every trick in the book to block any such laws. American politicians are actually scared of NRA. It targets candidates running for office who support gun control laws and does everything it can do-including funneling millions of dollars to the campaign funds of opponents and doing media hit jobs- to defeat them. This is a classic case of minority tyranny.
2) Billionaires Decide Election Verdicts: Most modern democracies- except a rare few left in Scandinavian countries- have accepted the fact that money plays a big role in electoral outcomes. You cannot even dream of becoming a serious Presidential candidate in the United States unless you gather a war chest of a few billion dollars. In India, candidates often spend up to 50 times more than the limits set by the Election Commission. It is illegal but everybody does it. Five years ago in America, the Supreme Court made the illegal legal in its historic 2010 Citizens United verdict. Prior to this, there were restrictions on how much money corporations and organized groups could give to candidates and parties. This verdict declared that the campaign fund restrictions violated fundamental rights of corporations, labor unions and other organized groups and lifted virtually all restrictions. It is a free for all now with companies and corporate lobbies pouring hundreds of millions of dollars to the campaign funds of "sympathetic" candidates.
3) The Relentless Green Activists: Almost everybody agrees that environmental degradation and global warming are serious concerns confronting the planet. Since the 1970s, environmental activists, also called green activists have been playing an increasingly proactive role. There is no doubt that their role has been largely positive and has forced governments as well as the corporate sector to behave more responsibly when it comes to the environment. But many green activist groups are also unflinching and rigid in opposing "all" projects that could adversely affect environment. The projects could range from a nuclear plant to a coal based power plant to a dam to even a factory making computer chips. They may be at the other end of the ideological spectrum compared to the American NRA, but they are equally relentless, well organized and vocal. If anyone has objectively followed the tortuous Narmada Bachao agitation, she would know that green activists are as adept as governments and companies in fudging figures and outright lying for their "cause". Worldwide, including India, green activists have cut a sorry figure when they have contested elections: with the same people they claim to protect rejecting them time and again!
4) The Organized Labour Mafia: The year 2016 will see a lot of controversy related to labour laws. States like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana are already initiating steps to change the obsolete labor laws that are not only discourage investment; but also fail to protect the interests of the labor. Every time any government wants to "reform" (or change) any aspect of India's labor laws, trade unions protest vehemently and often go on strike. The problem is: trade unions in India represent a minority of pampered workers in the country. Out of the 500 plus million Indians who are part of the work force, no more than 50 million are part of organized trade unions. The remaining 90% are left to fend for themselves, usually at the mercy of contractors and greedy employers. Practical labor laws will actually help this 90 per cent. But the "minority" trade unions are successfully derailed all efforts.
5) In The Name of The Farmer: Since independence, farmers and those associated with farming and agriculture have been treated like "holy cows" by the State. The Constitution of India has virtually mandated that no income taxes can be imposed on the farmer and farm income. The logic: the agriculture sector that supported more than 70% of the population in 1947 needs protection. Sounds nice in theory. But this has ended up protecting a "minority" of wealthy farmers. An overwhelming majority of Indian farmers do not earn enough to pay income tax. So why not make rich farmers pay income tax? Besides, this exemption has enabled corrupt politicians, bureaucrats, businessmen and middle men to become "farmers" to recycle their ill-gotten wealth. Then again, look at fertilizer subsidies. More than 70 per cent of the farmers can barely afford subsidies. And yet, the fertilizer subsidy bill in India exceeds Rs 100,000 lakh crore!
Do note: there are many other cases of minorities hijacking and subverting democracies because they are louder and better organized. Do also note: it is usually money, power and greed that drives these groups more than ideology!
