Democratic India has far more draconian laws than the India under the British imperial rule. In fact, the Rowlatt Act whose opposition led to the massacre of more than a thousand men, women and children at the Jallianwala Bag is very mild and liberal compared to MISA (1971) TADA (1985), UAPA (1967) , POTA (2002) , AFSPA (1958) and numerous other laws enacted by the Union and the State governments after independence.
Under the Rowlatt Act thousands could not have been arrested indiscriminately as is done under the dreaded draconian laws
enacted in the Republic of India. When a democratic government needs draconian laws, it means that it has ceased to be a goverment for the people and is engaged in serving a handful at the cost of the multitude leading to the need of an arsenal of draconian laws to suppress the protesting masses.
Would the people create such a situation for a government which serves them well as to warrant enactment of draconian laws for their own suppression ? Such a course would be illogical and irrational. If there is a need for ruthless laws in our country , there has to be a reason .The fact is that successive governments after independence have been shamelessly violating the letter and spirit of the constitution and betraying the the people to serve the rich causing anger and resentment .To take only a few examples, the constitution enjoins the State to 'minimise the inequalities in income' and' eliminate the inequality of status, opportunity and facility ' but the rulers have been maximising them.The constitution enjoins the State to prevent concentration of wealth and the means of production into a few hands , but the rulers have been doing the opposite and have created a class of the rich and super rich