The world seems to be positing diversity as people migrate to countries for varied reasons belonging to diverse religion, colour, race, class, caste and nationalities. In due course of time, many embrace citizenship in other countries that they want to reside enjoying all rights and privileges. At the same time, there are those who go to other countries for work and education, vacation and host of others. We used to see a balanced picture of diversity in the world where we live in. The rainbow canopy of the world is gradually shrinking and vanishing.
Though we enjoy by saying that the country we live is diverse, in real terms, it is not diverse. The very essence, meaning and understanding of diversity is under threat. To be precise, the notion of diversity in a globalizing world is on the retreat, meaning the world at one point of time covered with diversity is currently undergoing intense pressure as the contours of global politics is changing rapidly.
The countries that used to respect plurality, rule of law, human rights and freedom are changing and embracing majoritarianism, white supremacy, religious fundamentalism, economic protectionism, misogyny and cultural nationalism.
Months ago in the Italian elections, Giorgia Meloni, far-right leader is likely to become Italy’s first woman Prime Minister She is a leader of Brothers of Italy, a conservative political party which Meloni compares her party with Conservative Party in Britain and Republican party in the United States. In her teens she was attracted to the Italian dictator Mussolini and influenced to his polity. What France narrowly averted in April 2022 has come to pass in Italy five months later. More than the election of the first, woman to lead her country, what Giorgia Meloni’s poll victory – and Marine le Pen’s loss before her – has arguably brought into focus is the seemingly inexorable rise of right wing in European politics.
The sweep of the right-wing politics is a matter of concern not only in Europe, but also world over. The reversal of politics from liberal to right-wing looks as if the colonies of erstwhile colonizers currently changing the contours of politics as Europe is caught with the crucial problems as migration and refugees arriving on the European shores and borders mainly from parts of the world where these countries once were their colonies.
Not only Europe but also other continents of the world including India. In the wake high inflation, declining living standards, rising unemployment. growing insecurity and eroding trust liberal values and expanding rights, the conservative politics premised on right-wing ideological mooring is deeply rooted in the assertion of identity consciousness sweeping the world across.
Right-wing politics is no longer a fringe, now has occupied the centre stage and increasingly becoming the main opposing ideological and political moorings to liberalism and free world. The world is shifting to the political centre rightwards throughout the world The right-wing politics is based on anti-migrants and refugees; pro-majoritarian based on religion and culture; entrenched on divisive, xenophobic, myogenic, casteist, racial, polarisation and populist politics. Populist measures involves building high walls around borders; increasing coastal guards; deportation of migrants and refugees; treating the minorities as aliens
Far-right political parties view the very term ‘diversity” as anathema and opposed to their politics and program. In order to win-over or to respond to the ultra-conservatives, religiously fundamentalists, Orthodox, and evangelicals ideologically driven by conservative scriptural undercurrents is opposed to LGBTQ, human rights, free speech, gender parity, religious diversity and cultural plurality. Entrenched within frames of binaries the those in the far-right do not want to see beyond their narrow conceptions.
Increasingly to form governments and garner votes even the centrist parties or left of the center keep moving to closer to right when it come to the questions of conversion, immigration, LGBTQ, closing the borders and movements of people and so on. The rule of law and upholding of the human rights seldom we come across. Clear cut differences and distinct characteristics between political parties that showed clear ideological position when it comes to their analyses of society and vision of society have been blunted and blurred.
We have been witnessing in recent times that categorisation of leaders as dictators, autocrats, democrats, and their governance as democracy, oligarchy, dictatorial, and autocratic have shown hardly any difference. These categorisations rather confused many because they have hardly worked and now there’s no difference at all. Do we see any difference between the political parties in their governance which is indeed the litmus test, not their manifestoes. We live in such backdrops where dictators, autocrats, and democrats exist only in the political lexicon, but no more a reality. Those days are over, where vision and party’s manifesto counts.
Having election as demanded by the Constitution in four or five years does not mean that it is democracy. There are constitutional mechanisms that can be employed to bring back some of the things that are derailed within democratic processes, not more than that. If we go back to history, we could agree to a point that democracy has been used or became a platform for autocracy and dictatorial leaderships to take-over governments.
Take for instance, the United States, Israel, India, and others that claims and talks about democracy, rule of law, human rights, Constitution and others may reflect the features of democracy, but in actual practice those who run the governments have the autocratic and dictatorial spirits. The leaders have used all kinds of draconian laws and thus enforce laws by giving free hand to law enforcing agencies to punish and prosecute those who question them and their policies. In democracies once they get elected there’s no room to call them back.
If we take Israel, this is what happening. People keep protesting and asking their PM Netanyahu to go for ceasefire and bring the Israeli hostages back. He has not relented and continues the war on Gaza, not only Hamas, but targeting those who represent Hamas in Doha peace talks. How could he go after the negotiators to kill them in another country which is the chief negotiator trying hard to bring ceasefire. Israel claims to be a democratic country, but in reality, he acts like an autocrat and many times more than a dictator.
Dr. John Mohan Razu
Tuesday, September 30, 2025