DON’T HIDE DISSENT

Since December 2019, nonstop demonstrations at Town Hall, Bengaluru, against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act have targeted the commuting public, using not just slogans, but art, performance poetry and speeches. It will certainly go down in history as the most creative and sustained “occupation” since the Indian freedom struggle. But the BBMP has just declared a ban on the demonstrations. It has suggested an alternative site. But here, as we very well know, the protesters will largely be speaking to themselves. They will no longer be a reminder to elected representatives and the general public of what is at stake in their opposition to the CAA. Such bans, if implemented, will be difficult for any political party to sustain, since our noisy republic relies as much on street mobilisations for its political existence as on elections. Above all, it will diminish the dynamic relationship between the city architecture and its citizens. Amjadullah A. Bajpatti

Bengaluru

DROPPED CHANCE

I’m sure Women’s Day will always be a reminder of higher goals for Harmanpreet Kaur and her girls. They will never forget their humiliating defeat at the hands of Meg Lanning’s Aussie side by 85 runs. Lanning’s team won the Women’s T20 World Cup final in front of 90,000 cricket lovers at the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground. Opener Alyssa Healy (75) was the player of match. Healy was dropped in the fifth ball of the innings by Shafali Verma off Deepti Sharma, and Beth Mooney (78n/o) too cashed in on a dropped chance. When will the Indian side learn that catches win matches? Bidyut K. Chatterjee Faridabad, Haryana