Say ‘No’ to the Bandh Culture
JP Rajkhowa
After respite for a month or so, the self- destructive bandh culture is again picking up momentum with the exposure of Ripun Bora’s attempt to bribe a CBI officer investigating the Daniel Topno murder case in which Bora is a suspect. The students’ wings of the tea tribes called Asom bandh on two different dates, demanding, inter alia, the expulsion of the disgraced former Education Minister from the Congress and exemplary punishment to him for his alleged involvement in the Daniel Topo murder case. While it is for the court of law to decide, in due course of time, whether Bora could be held guilty of the murder of Topno or abetment thereto, as per the laid down legal process, Bora has meanwhile been suspended from the party in view of his arrest by the CBI and remand to custody by the court. Further boost has been given to the bandh culture by the recent decision of the Centre to hike the prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas, and the failure of the government to control the galloping inflation which has hit the aam aadmi and the middle class as a whole, most severely. Although the Union Finance Minister declared a number of sops, including withdrawal of customs duty on edible oils, pulses etc, as also reduction of excise duties on construction materials like cement and steel, the benefits have not been passed on to the consumers by unscrupulous elements. Public anger against the government is building up as a result of its failure, both at the Central and State level, to act firmly and decisively against hoarders and black marketers. On the other hand, the report of falling agricultural production, eatables in particular, as had appeared in the Economic Survey Report 2008, created the fear of a possible food crisis, with the developed West diverting huge agricultural areas from production of wheat and corn to bio-fuels. The recent report of 2.5 per cent agricultural growth during the financial year 2007-08 has failed to assure the country of food availability, not to speak of food security. The opposition parties are up in arms against the UPA dispensation for its failure on the price front and are not bothered even when the crude oil price per barrel has gone up to US $139, and could even go up even further according to various forecasts, which in fact compelled the Centre to bring down the subsidy regime. One thing which has made the Centre’s stand self-contradictory seems to be the farmers debt relief scheme at a whopping cost of nearly Rs 70, 000 crore, which has failed to have any impact on the suicide rate of farmers in the targeted States. As the parliamentary elections are scheduled after a couple of months, the opposition has been given a unique opportunity to campaign against the UPA.Interestingly, it is the UPA partners in power and the Left front together with the BJP, though operating from different platforms, which have spearheaded a countrywide campaign against the unchecked inflation and other failures of the Centre. The Left front called a general strike in the Left-ruled States of West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura against price rise and other failures of the Centre by diplomatically avoiding the use of ‘‘bandh’’ which has been banned by the apex court. The hartal paralysed life in these States and brought all economic activities to a total halt. In effect, the hartal had had greater adverse impact on the aam aadmi and the economy as compared to a bandh called by any political party or organization, because it was a government-sponsored affair. The result was disruption in the transportation and supply of essential commodities, and loss of millions of precious man-hours. In Asom too, while the Left parties scrupulously avoided calling an Asom bandh, they declared a rail roko and rasta roko programme, which had had the effect of a bandh at many places and certainly went against the interests of the aam aadmi for whom they had ostensibly launched an agitation of sorts. Such double standards practised by the Left parties, going for a bandh in disguise, indicate the deteriorating standards of the so-called people-friendly parties.In Asom, in spite of a legal ban in force, parties and organizations do not mind calling a ‘protest’ bandh; so we have had a couple of Asom bandhs in the past fortnight, including one by the AGP as well as by some other regional parties, against government failures to control price rise and the recent hike in the price of some petroleum products. The bandh was a total success, as all State and non-State activities came to a grinding halt for long 12 hours, with the working hours at offices and establishments lost for one full day. By the time shops and bazaars started opening, there was shortage of most essential commodities; fish, meat and vegetables had almost disappeared; and whatever was available cost more than 50 per cent of the normal price. Again, the aam aadmi — daily wage earners, small-time vegetable dealers coming from distant villagers, poor fishermen, and other small-time vendors — was the biggest loser. The State government remained a mute spectator, as even the nationalized banks did not open their shutters. In the recent past, there was a similar bandh in the BTC areas which had the backing of the BTC authorities and was a total success. Many lives have also been lost during bandhs at different places in the State, with some recent casualties in the Goalpara district where the Rabha-Hasongs declared bandh against holding of panchayat elections and non-Rabha organizations followed suit, demanding holding of elections. The entire academic environment of the State has been vitiated by the frequent bandh calls given by different organizations, which has also resulted in brain drain from this State, apart from the great loss caused due to loss of class-hours. Would anyone listen and stop calling bandh for highlighting public grievances? Should any organization that calls a bandh or hartal continue to do so with impunity? Should not there be a code of conduct for political parties, students’ organizations and other bodies which should rather devise other means of peaceful protests? Would the government launch a public campaign against the self-destructive and destabilizing bandh culture and come forward to provide security to those who mobilize public opinion against bandh in all its hues? Why cannot the government ensure full presence during bandhs by making suitable arrangement for office-goers to commute so that at least State establishments and banks, railways and air transport services remain functional?While it is heartening that a number of organizations led by senior citizens had, in the recent past, come out openly opposing bandhs called by the outlawed ULFA, by and large people have not come out to defy other bandh calls, which is certainly a matter of great concern as the people’s right to free movement and pursuit of their rightful occupation gets negated by bandhs. During the past three years, so many public appeals were made by senior citizens, the intelligentsia and other right-minded people calling upon the people and organizations to say an assertive ‘‘No’’ to bandhs, but the people and organizations that matter are yet not impressed.In the backdrop of the ever increasing bandh calls, it is encouraging to know that some students’ organizations demanding ST status have announced protest demonstrations other than bandh — such as wearing of leaves and barks like the aborigines and Dispur chalo agenda with the male coming half-naked and female protesters spreading their hair. Earlier, we have had the experience of the Bodoland agitators shaving off their hair and writing their demands on their bare bodies which, as many felt, did have an impact, drawing wide media publicity too. Peaceful jail bharo or Dispur chalo programme could be a much better alternative to bandh, but then the organizers and the authorities would have to ensure that there would be no repetition of any Beltola kind of incident as that of last November. The AASU recently organized a State-wide demonstration in which its participants observed a kind of maun brat by gagging their mouth with a piece of white cloth. It was in good taste, people felt. Mass fasting/ individual fasting by prominent leaders was widely resorted to as a component of the non- violent movement launched by Gandhiji in his exemplary struggle for independence from British colonial rule. A number of interesting modes of protest, as part of Gandhigiri, came to public view in Lage Raho Munnabhai too, a movie of recent times. As reported in the media, one such experiment — presentation of flowers — was launched by a few organizations in some parts of the country, which was quite successful. Well, there are so many decent and pro-people ways in which public protests could take place, so that the voice of the people is heard and acted upon by the authorities in the right earnest. Would our political parties, youth wings of the parties, and students’ organizations make a resolve of their own to say ‘‘No’’ to any proposed bandh and harp on methods of peaceful protests that would not hurt the people and the nation at large? It is time it happened.(The writer was Chief Secretary, Assam) Source: sentinel assam editorial 15.06.08
