How badly fractured the Indian polity has become was yet again manifested on Martyrdom Day (Shaheed Diwas) when the main Opposition Congress ran a campaign to ask citizens whether the freedom fighters had dreamt of a country where the constitutional principles of equality and justice are wantonly attacked.

Asserting that every single assault on the voice of the people is an insult to the nation’s heroes, the Congress tweeted: “The best way to pay tribute to Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru is to unite and defend our freedoms.”

The political discourse is laden with such acrimony and distrust when Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described as “Amrit Kal (blessed period)” India celebrating the 75th year of Independence.

The Congress flooded social media with questions about cruelty to protesting farmers, the unprecedented humanitarian crisis caused by the lockdown, the frightening images of death and desperation during the second wave of Covid and ghastly incidents such as the alleged forcible burning of a rape victim’s body by police in Hathras. Portraying the picture of a tormented and troubled nation, the Congress asked: “Is this the nation they (freedom fighters) envisioned?”

While the BJP’s Twitter handle did pay tribute to Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru through a solitary message, the Congress filled the space with moral inquest, videos, photographs and messages contrasting the vision of the freedom struggle and contemporary India. One message, along with photographs of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, said: “They stood as symbols of love and peace, brotherhood and harmony. Won’t you stand against hate? Won’t you make them proud?”

Entreating citizens to respond to the trauma of “a nation suffering hate”, the party said: “Come together, uphold the spirit of brotherhood. Today Bharat Mata calls upon each of us to fight for the dream for which our brave heroes gave their all. They made the ultimate sacrifice in the fight against tyranny and oppression. In their name, let us vow to defend our freedoms. Ideas of truth and justice, liberty and equality, freedom and democracy can never be crushed.”

Claiming that the Congress was dedicated to its philosophy, the party asserted that it wanted an India where everyone had equal rights.

Such a noble cause cannot be a point of discord as every political party is expected to safeguard constitutional morality, but the Opposition’s political resistance against the BJP rests on the narrative that the constitutional scheme is in peril. The Opposition has been referring to both implicit and explicit anti-Muslim biases in the BJP’s politics, accentuated by the dominance of the Modi-Shah duopoly even though their main slogan is “Sabka saath, sabka vikas”.

While the divisive tenor is reflected in election campaigns, incendiary statements of ministers and MPs — slogans such as “goli maro (shoot them)” — controversies around the hijab and the film The Kashmir Files have given credence to the Opposition allegations.

Open calls for punishing Muslims, disruption of prayers and violence haven’t evoked the kind of responses from the ruling establishment that could convince the nation that there is no threat to constitutional principles, many believe. On the birth and death anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi, campaigns have been freely run to hail the assassin Nathuram Godse. State governments too have used issues such as “love jihad” and religious conversation to sustain the dog-whistle politics.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday hinted at the contemporary struggle while paying tribute to the martyrs.

He said: “The ideas of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru will remain eternal. Whenever there will be a voice against injustice, images of these martyrs will be reflected. Anybody who wants to live and die for the country will have these three brave men in their hearts.”

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted: “Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev sacrificed their lives for a system which rests on equality, not arrogance of power. They dreamt of a system where citizens’ rights are supreme and everybody contributes to nation-building. Come together to strengthen this idea.”