Tuesday, July 06, 2010

a note on yesterday's Bharat Bandh

for the first time since late 80s, the Opposition Left and Right in India united against Congress I party's misrule and gave a call for complete 'bandh' (total shutdown) of the country. a lot has been and is being said in favor or against this. while the opposition parties say it was a resounding success, the ruling Congress I says it was anti-people. and this cockiness of the riling party is what i didn't like.

whether a success or not, it was important for the Opposition to get united and forcefully tell the Government, that price rise is an issue that gravely affects the people and cannot be brushed under the carpet anymore. yes, any kind of bandh affects the day to day life of people involved, yes, it extracts a cost, but sometimes, disruption becomes important to draw the attention of the ruling Government towards the plight of common people.

if a peaceful, democratic, bandh is so anti-people, as the Congress I today claims, then the Satyagraha and the Civil Disobedience movements of Gandhi ji and the original Congress party against the British raj were equally anti-people, 'cos they also disrupted so-called normal life, financial transactions and functions of the Government of the day.

the fact is, whether a bandh or no bandh, everything, including the most essential commodities have seen run-away inflation in the present misrule of UPA-II (of which Congress I is the head). and the most affected by this are the very segments of society whose beneficiary Congress promises to be. it is very easy for some media houses, commenting from their air-conditioned spaces, to write this bandh off only as a disruptive attempt by the opposition parties, to write that this bandh was anti-people, to say that India 'lost' 13 thousand crores in a single day... it'll be very difficult for them to highlight the agony of the same 'common-man' on rest of the non-bandh 364 days of the year!

India's voting public possesses a notoriously short-term memory, and Congress I has highly skilled media managers, and that is why i hope that the Opposition keeps this issue on the 'front page' for as long as possible. we need not go back much to understand this, look where the Bhopal tragedy is in the news these days! Bharat Bandh's and Opposition's next trial will be in the monsoon session of the parliament, let's hope it doesn't become another Bhopal story by then!

i'll close with Bhagat Singh's words, "If the deaf are to hear, the sound has to be very loud." and this present Government has not only been deaf, but dumb and blind too. lets hope for salvation.

7 comments:

Ankush said...

Don't completely agree. While movements during the Raj were voluntary, these Bandhs are forced upon. Slapping common man on railway stations, Destroying Trains,Buses and Ambulances and creating traffic jams is not a loud noise for the deaf ears, it's just deafening for the common man. To protest, we still can have peaceful ways. Even Mahatma Gandhi withdrew his protest after the Violence of Chauri-Chaura.

And the opposition coming together, is just being "partners in crime".

i'm not a supporter of Congress' policies, but still couldn't think of BJP becoming Bus Jalao Party.

Sri Harsha said...

Yes i totally agree with you when u say that the opposition mustn't rest with glory after the success of a single day bandh..They must remain united & speak the same language, & pursue this rigorously to expose the corrupt & inept dealings of this government..

Sanjay Arora said...

I agree albeit only partially with what you have said. Honestly comparing today's India & its politicians to Bapuji's times is doing him great disservice. Neither the ruling party nor the opposition gives s fig about the 'aam admi' they claim to work for. Look at how all of them unite when they have to hike their own salaries or or extract benefits. Both the ruling party as well as the opposition is simply going through the motions, in sham show that they have to put on keep raking in their moolah.

heropm said...

Awesome comments Adee. I liked the last part where Bhagat Singh's quote is mentioned. Apt for this situation. Great going.

Vivek said...

today the media is so powerful that it can be used to manipulate the minds of common man... all through the bandh day the media was busy broadcasting Mahendra Singh Dhoni's marriage, conicidence?

Danish said...

Adi,
Good to read your political views too, i thought u wrote only poetry :) (n good ones too!)

However,equating bandh with satyagraha is not something I can agree to.
Protest in the form of boycott and non-coperation is an inalienable rights.

Bandhs on the other hand are partly imposed upon the people through force. You have the right to protest but when some one threatens you to disrupt your everyday life, extend support to the particular groups' movement or face the risk of life and propertv, what these groups are doing is taking away your right and liberty
.
Plz check out my blog http://xpensieve.blogsop.com and do comment/share :)

How do we know said...

Adee.. i just came by to say that this post completely changed my perspective towards the Bandh. Awesome post!!

dreamt before

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