🛑 “Tyranny thrives when institutions become hollow.” — a chilling warning, and the title of an important column by senior Supreme Court advocate Sanjay Hegde.

Published fittingly around US Independence Day, the article dissects a critical moment in global democracy — the creeping threat of authoritarianism even in well-established democracies like the United States.

Drawing stark parallels with India’s 1975 Emergency, Hegde illustrates how democracies don’t collapse overnight. They erode slowly, legally, institution by institution.

📜 The Indian Emergency wasn't triggered by a military coup. It was declared by a democratically elected leader using constitutional provisions — and therein lies the danger.

The judiciary was subverted. The press silenced. The opposition jailed. Citizens found themselves legally stripped of liberty.

It’s a pattern the article sees repeating in the US, where institutions — from the judiciary to the media — face growing pressure and politicization. The cult of personality, hero worship, and blind loyalty have begun to overshadow the fundamental principles of democracy.

🔍 The real threat to democracy, the article warns, is not external invasion, but internal erosion — when institutions lose their independence and citizens become complacent.

As Dr. Ambedkar once reminded us, “Constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment. It has to be cultivated.”

🛡 Democracy, then, must be defended, not assumed. Reclaimed, not romanticized. Each generation must protect what the previous fought for — not just with votes, but with vigilance.

🗣 Let us reflect on this — not just as citizens of any one country, but as global participants in the democratic experiment.

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