Foreign hand bogey is wearing thin. Bury it

The RSS chief, Mohan Bhagwat, and members of the BJP and NDA government have recently resorted to a tired political alibi – blaming foreign forces for domestic turmoil. This comes after the protests of July, which centred around the Chief Election Commissioner's handling of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The "foreign hand" theory, which was famously used by Indira Gandhi to delegitimise unrest against her government in the 1970s, is being recycled by ruling elites.

This tactic not only undermines the agency of protestors and their legitimate concerns but also delays an honest evaluation of the government's own shortcomings. The BJP and NDA government's reliance on the "foreign hand" in an attempt to quell the young protestors on the streets contradicts its own efforts to engage with a changing world and navigate global currents.

Instead of denying domestic issues such as economic mismanagement, rising corruption, and limited communication channels, political institutions and parties should address these concerns head-on and open up their doors to the people, especially the young, whose frustrations are being amplified by social media.