PROTEST AGAINST PROTESTS!

BY ADITHIMANASA

Effigies burnt, tyres ablaze, people sitting on the roads, cooking food on the streets, shouting slogans!

Picture courtesy- newindianexpress.com

This is how people protest against any issue. All these antics not only lead to traffic congestion but also cause a lot of inconvenience. Ambulances with the siren on for hours have to wait for the angry mob to let them go. Employees get late for office and students are late for schools. Petrol and diesel is wasted like water!

Various organisations and committees come alive only during protests. Sound pollution is also caused when they decide to bring loud speakers along! After the press and media cover the issue (take bytes of the protesters and capture their stunts) the protesters go back home. End of the day there are the streets are full of litter strewn around. Posters, flags, buntings, banners, tyres, footwear, clothes and burnt effigies of course! But what about the solution? When such angry protests do not yield anything positive, then why protest in the first place?

Picture courtesy- www.thehindu.com

All said and done, protesters 'end their fast/ protest' and return to their nests. They are least bothered about the problem being solved. They only want their voice to be heard. Don't they feel ashamed of themselves when they see the entire drama on TV or see the photographs in the newspapers? Do they really feel proud of their 'wild' behaviour?

Agreed; non-violence cannot be the approach every single time. You need to be aggressive at times so that your woes are noticed by the concerned authority. But why break your head when you 'really' are not bothered about the solution? Why not protest in a novel way? A protest which is harmless yet effective. Why not think out of the box and get your problems noticed? Why do the protesters get noticed and not their problems?

Picture courtesy- www.livemint.com

I have seen people calling up their family and telling them "Look! I'm on TV" Is that why they are protesting? Is that why they are fasting? So that they can come on TV? People who go to watch a football or cricket match at a stadium too behave the same way. But they are NOT on a mission! They have all the rights to enjoy. But what about the protesters’ ideals?

One cannot force anyone to change their mentality but one can indeed try to make a change. One can be an inspiration to others. One can be an example! It is in the hands of those people who protest... to set a good example or be a bad example. Protest... not for publicity but for the injustice done. See to that things are set straight.

Only a handful of them take to the streets when they are left with no option. Rest join them in their protest only to have fun. Will there be ever an end to people ‘staging’ protests? Will any protester come up with a harmless idea? If yes, then Abou ben adhem... May his tribe increase!