The Wind Is Changing: A Government That Stops Listening Begins to Fear Its Own People

By Jameel Aahmed Milansaar

There comes a moment in every democracy when silence gives way to resistance. India appears to be approaching that moment.

The ongoing NEET protests are no longer just about an entrance examination. They have become a test of how a government responds when young citizens question authority. Instead of dialogue, reassurance, and accountability, the country has witnessed disturbing images of force being used against peaceful demonstrators. Among the most shocking was a video allegedly showing a senior Delhi Police officer striking a young woman protester. If true, it is not merely an act of individual misconduct—it is a symbol of a deeper institutional failure.

A uniform is meant to protect the vulnerable, not intimidate them. The idea that a male police officer could physically assault a woman participating in a public protest raises profound moral and legal questions. Democracies survive because citizens trust that those entrusted with power will exercise restraint. When that trust is broken, public anger grows stronger than any barricade.

What makes this moment even more significant is the changing mood across the country. The government's strongest asset was once the confidence people placed in its promises. Today, that confidence appears increasingly fragile. Many young Indians feel unheard. Farmers continue to express resentment over policies they believe have ignored their concerns. Dalits and Adivasis continue to demand dignity and equal opportunity. Sections of the OBC community and religious minorities increasingly question whether their voices carry equal weight in the national conversation.

Whether one agrees with every protest or not is beside the point. The right to dissent is not a favour granted by those in power; it is a constitutional guarantee. Governments that answer criticism with force risk weakening the very democratic values they claim to defend.

History has repeatedly shown that governments rarely lose power because citizens ask difficult questions. They lose it when they stop listening to those questions altogether.

The wind is changing. The voices on the streets are no longer isolated slogans; they are signals of growing public frustration. Leadership is measured not by the strength of its police response but by the strength of its willingness to hear its people.

A democracy earns respect when it protects dissent, not when it punishes it.