How a public protest divided India
WHEN WILL THE URBAN CITIZENRY PROTEST FOR THE FARMER OR PARLIAMENT HOLD A MIDNIGHT SESSION TO ADDRESS THE FARM CRISIS THAT IS SPREADING ACROSS THE NATION?
other to emboss the occasion with superlatives. The ‘Not in My Name’ protests were carried on a few English news channels, but the more watched regional and Hindi channels chose to give it a miss, probably because they didn’t see any TRPs in a small, urbancentric gathering. The Right-wing commentary on social media spoke of how such events were monopolised by the usual suspects: Secular liberals who raised their voice only because a Muslim had been killed. “Where were you when RSS workers are killed in Kerala or Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley,” was a common refrain, the ‘whataboutery’ accusations designed to push an ominous ‘them’ versus ‘us’ polarisation.
It is almost as if the genuine anger of a citizen in the face of violent bigotry is somehow illegitimate but the majesty of the State must not be subject to inconvenient truths. Which is why, if given a choice, I would have rather attended a simple citizens’ protest in the true spirit of democratic dissent than an ostentatious Parliament jamboree.
Post-script: While citizens raise their voice against lynchings and the State applauds itself over the GST, here is another reality to ponder over: In June, over 25 farmers in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh and Congress-ruled Karnataka committed suicide. When will the urban citizenry protest for the farmer or Parliament hold a midnight session to debate the agrarian crisis?