Dear Friends,

Due to certain unforeseen circumstances we are not able to bringing out the “Tax Companion” as per the schedule. My sincere apologies for the same. However, with the help of our esteemed professional colleagues we are compiling certain very important articles on some of the very important topics. Our origination has successfully conducted NTC at Katra. We have even witnessed that two major festivals Ganpati Festival and Durga Puja has been celebrated without causing any major spike in the number of COVID-19 cases. Let’s put in all possible efforts from our side to make the vaccination drive a success and keep adhering to the COVID-19 appropriate behavior. The first as well as second wave of COVID-19 has hurt the economic activity in general and has specifically effected our fraternity severely. It is heartening to note that seniors in our association have risen to the occasion to support junior professionals who have faced the brunt.

Democracy and Discipline

Unfortunately, chaotic scenes seem to have become endemic to India and this necessitates one to address the question as to the role of discipline in a vibrant Democracy and Also examine whether chaos is an essential indicator of Democracy. Also pertinent is the question whether protests that undermine the authority of democratic institutions be allowed to continue perpetually! Can a country like India allow protests to be an alternative to credible mechanisms of alternative conflict resolution? Should a government respond to protests by yielding to the protestors thereby giving it credibility and make it a precedent? In a large and diverse country like India, it is imperative for many diverse and in fact opposite interests to exist in the same space… while it is the responsibility of the government of the day to work towards accommodating all shades of interests co existing in a given space, it is the responsibility of the stakeholders to put pressure on the government through established means of conflict resolution and not adopt ways that undermine the authority of democratic institutions after all, the sanction for the authority of state lies in the Constitution that has been given mandate to, by “We, the people.”

Discipline is the subtext for a democracy to function and chaos that has the potential to sow the seeds of anarchy is the pest that needs to be plucked from the root. The question in my opinion is not whether or not a democratic institutions have the right to put an end to violence and chaos; the only question that needs to be addressed now is the means that can be adopted to stem acts that have the potential to weaken democratic institutions.

I thank all the contributors to this issue of AIFTP Journal for sparing their valuable time. I wish you all, in advance, happy and great Diwali festivity

K. Gopal,
Editor

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