Interacting with students of ACJ Gopinathan said, “The mandate of the people gives the government the right to decide, but the fundamental rights give the citizens the right to protest”.

He explored instances where the government had systematically prevented democratic process in India.

“Everybody was detained to prevent a democratic response to the government’s decision,” said Gopinathan regarding the arrests at the time of the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir. The bureaucracy was left to ensure that this suppression took place.

Gopinathan recalled a time when he was told that the bureaucracy’s job was to find legally acceptable ways to implement political will. “Even though you’ve come to power, your power is actually limited,” he said.

Recollecting his own experience as District Magistrate in Gujarat, Gopinathan said that before  the 2014 elections he received orders to arrest two innocent Muslim men under the PASA Act. On objecting, he soon received orders to arrest a Hindu man instead.

“It is not about Hindu or Muslim, its about the state’s power,” said Gopinathan. He stated that, “Governments have always had this tendency of maximizing power.”

Kannan Gopinathan said that the government’s pursuit of statist power is hindered by the checks and balances of power that are characteristic of a democracy. The government tries to establish hegemony by controlling institutions.

“If the institutions were doing their job, I would’ve continued. I’m just a public-servant,”  said Gopinathan regarding his resignation. He said that there was a vast gap between the lived realities of the oppressed Kashmiris and the propaganda that was broadcasted on the media.

Gopinathan said that a country is guided by its collective intellect, and not only by politicians. “When the intellectuals decide its better to stay silent, we as a country have taken a step back,” he said regarding the lack of a counter-narrative to the government’s diktats.

Gopinathan stated that the citizens of India were penalized for asking for their rights and conditioned to wait patiently. He said that citizens were deliberately made to feel indebted to the government.

“More than 90 percent of the people in our country are not citizens. We consider ourselves subjects of a benevolent government,” said Gopinathan regarding the government’s manipulation of the people. Citizens are made to feel constantly obligated to the government.

Gopinathan stated that the majority of people were uninterested in fighting for fundamental rights and freedom of expression. “They never had that luxury to begin with. They cannot be made to feel they’ve lost something if they never had it,” he said.

On witnessing the gross violation of fundamental rights as a District Magistrate in a number of states, Kannan Gopinathan came to the decision that he had to resign. “I needed to resign and say certain things,” he said.