Hats off to Kannan Gopinathan

If the Government takes a decision, that is their right. But the response to that decision is the people’s right. Here, we have taken a decision and then we have detained everybody. They are not even allowed to respond to that decision. That is dangerous.

An IAS officer resigning because the fundamental rights of the Kashmiri people are curbed although he is not posted in Kashmir is a brave decision. It strengthens the hope of democracy in the country.

It is not easy for a person to quit government job and forsake the financial security associated to it, though not directly affected by the Kashmir situation. At a time when selfishness is at its peak and people do not want to voice out unless they are personally affected, conscience-loving officers like Kannan Gopinathan are rare to find. He should be lauded for his brave move.

Kannan’s remark “We got into the service thinking that we can provide voice to people, but then we ended up with our own voice being taken away from us” should be written in golden script.

Citing Hong Kong’s example, he said “In a democracy, let’s say Hong Kong or any other democracy, if the Government takes a decision, that is their right. But the response to that decision is the people’s right. Here, we have taken a decision and then we have detained everybody. They are not even allowed to respond to that decision. That is dangerous.”