The three months lockdown has trained the people of India to keep mum. Exercise of restraint for one’s health and safety is uppermost. No doubt that Covid-19 is a real threat and all precautions need to be taken because so far there is no vaccine available which could be called a fool proof safeguard against this pandemic. It is good that the administration is working day and night to protect people from this deadly disease and medical staff including doctors, nurses, ward boys, sanitation staff  etc. are working in hazardous conditions saving the lives of millions. Kudos to them.This period of lockdown has also witnessed the worst ever exodus of working population from one part of the country to another. The number is not certain but the estimates vary between forty million to hundred million. The country was given three hours forty minutes to prepare for this lock down. 
The Prime Minister appealed the people to stay where they were. He also appealed to the employers to continue paying wages to the workers. But this did not work. The workers who had been working in different states away from their homes found themselves homeless and jobless. They tried to stay where they were for some time but when the lockdown was extended again and again they were forced to move out.No buses were plying, no trains were available, even flights were not there so they started – some on foot, some on bicycles, some on trucks. Interestingly those who expressed worry about them suddenly became the target of the Godi media and the IT cell of the ruling party. Earlier we talked of moral policing being exercised by RSS and its front organizations like VHP and Bajrang Dal. But in the recent occurrence they resorted to political policing. Anybody opposing the policies of the present government became the target. 
This is a new phenomenon in Indian democracy which has been in vogue in last six years. The social media has a new army called trolls. This word has been derived from Scandinavian myths in which troll are an evil character. Merriam Webster dictionary defines it as “a dwarf or giant in Scandinavian folklore inhabiting caves or hill”. Sitting in their safe caves they keep spreading venom on social media. 
The conflict with China in eastern Laddakh also became an issue which surprised many. No one in this country is against Indian army. Everybody salutes the bravery, courage and dedication of the armed forces. But equating a question to the decision making political bodies with the notion of insulting army has been another tendency. All this is being done to avoid independent democratic discourse. During lockdown a number of arrests were made in different parts of the country. It is for the courts to decide whether somebody is innocent or guilty but the timing of arrests raise certain doubts about the functioning of the state. IN the economic front the prices of petrol and diesel are rising every day since 7th June but there is no public demonstration of unrest. What kind of fear is it?
 In 1975 when internal emergency was imposed, the socialist leaders like Jai Prakash Narain, Chandra Shekhar, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Karpuri Thakur, George Fernandes, Madhu Limaye, along with the left (except CPI) and Jan Sangh people were opposing emergency. Several of them were in jail. Today the leaders who were in Jansangh, now in BJP are in power and socialist leaders like Dr. Sunilam, Arun Tripathi, Dr.Anand Kumar, Arun Shrivastav, etc. are calling for a nationwide movement to counter the emergency like situation in the country. There is something very serious which draws the attention of all democratic forces in the country.