Force edged towards insurrection at the US Capitol building in Washington, DC, on Wednesday as a mob of thousands strong – egged on by outgoing president Donald Trump – breached barriers and forced their way into the halls of the Congress, sending members and vice president Mike Pence fleeing to safety and halting the process that would certify Joe Biden as the next president of the United States. The image of the unruly mob sent shockwaves across the world. The US is often considered a model democracy and seeing its temple of democracy being attacked by the mob was unreal. Five people lost their lives.
The rivals of the US were having a field day as the mob ruled in Washington DC. It has often been said that if the United States were to succumb, it would be because of an attack from within, not an assault by terrorists or by a foreign adversary. And indeed, democracy was under actual, physical assault, in the Capitol, by Americans inflamed by the president of the United States, because he rejected the decisions made by voters, states and courts. This display of distrust in American institutions is far beyond what Osama bin Laden or Vladimir Putin could have hoped for. This was their goal: to destabilize and de-legitimize. The responsibility for this day of unconscionable attacks by Americans on the heart of an elective system belongs to Trump. But his enablers have much to answer for as well, and much to regret. It is also a warning signal for India. The right wing supporters in both the US and India behave in a similar way. They often indulge in disseminating misinformation deliberately. The Indian leaders can learn a lesson from the events that unfolded in the US.