The politics of BANDH

       After a respite of almost 5 years, the dreaded cry was heard in Mumbai yet again. ‘Bharat Bandh’ cried the opposition in unison and their cadre carried it out to perfection. While the government may claim otherwise, the agitation against the oil price hike was a resounding success with the common man preferring to stay indoors. The government promised security to any citizen brave enough to venture out of his home, but the success of its efforts to control the protest against inflation was akin to the success it received in controlling inflation itself. With the ‘Man on the Street’ preferring to stay off the street, the ‘intellectuals’ and the media continued to ask the same old clichéd questions that are asked during any Bandh. So via this blog post I attempt to answer these questions often aimed at deflecting attention from the issue raised by the Bandh itself.

       What does a Bandh achieve? The familiar refrain of all intellectuals generally unaffected by the issues raised by a bandh. If the same question were to be asked when a certain individual named Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, undertook a symbolic march to Dandi, where would we be today? While I do not wish to demean the Dandi March by comparing it to a political bandh, I do wish to draw parallels between the issue raised and the means used to raise it. In both cases, the protest was against a tax levied by the government on a commodity which has a direct bearing on the bread and butter of the common man. In both cases, protest was registered by breaking the law. That such measures have to be resorted to even in a democratic country is unfortunate. The issue was raised in parliament and on the streets of Delhi. Every debate on price rise within the four walls of parliament received the same disdainful reply-“Global effect”. It’s a failure of the constitution that it does not provide a means for the opposition to register its protest in a constructive manner. When the constitutional means of protest are exhausted, people have generally resorted to unconstitutional means. If the ruling party had accorded the issue the respect that it deserves, instead of attempting to brush it under the carpet, this form of protest would not be needed. Until today, no news channel had bothered to raise the issue of inflation in the public domain. Today, all of them have been forced to conduct debates and ask tough questions of the government. This is what the Bandh has achieved.

        Does the opposition have any solution to the problem of inflation? Well, the counter to that question is whether the government is in a mood to listen to suggestions? That a government headed by a famed economist is bereft of ideas to control inflation is an acknowledgement of its failure. The role of the opposition is to expose the failures of the government. The role of the government is to address these failures. If the people in power have no answer to crucial economic issues, they should vacate the treasury benches. This argument is similar to justifying the selection of Ravindra Jadeja by suggesting that there is no evidence that any other player would perform better than him. Unless given a chance, the opposition won’t be able to put its policies into action at all.

        Isn’t there a better method to voice protest? Unfortunately, it has been seen time and time again that inconveniencing the common man is the most effective tactic to arm-twist the government. The Gujjar agitation and the more recent Motormen Strike has given further credibility to this school of thought. The only method to break the slumber of the government seems to be to hold the common man to ransom. Unless the government starts dealing with such protesters with an iron fist, the politics of Bandh will continue to prosper.

        The arrogance with which the government deals with such issues in parliament is borne out of the fact that neither the UPA Chairperson nor the PM participated in the debate on Price Rise. In such situations, the opposition can hardly be faulted for resorting to extreme measures. Even the gods seemed to support the Bandh as the heavens started pouring only after the Bandh was called off.