Bandh culture ruining India
Bandhs and Hartals are two very famous processes in India’s public life. Usually called by political parties, or even by trade unions, these are highly disruptive activities whose sole aim are to stop public life and normal activities.
The irony is that organizations that declare bandhs claim it is a mechanism to protest the infringement and denial of citizen rights, whereas bandhs in themselves seem to be doing just that. Life is brought to a standstill, and why - because of fear of harm to one’s life and property.
Only recently did Mumbai High Court punish BJP and Shiv Sena for declaring bandhs after the 1993 bombings. The bombs were terrorist activities, and in my opinion, so are bandhs!
Bandhs and hartals are definitely terrorist activities too because they cause fear to the public if we don’t remain inactive. What is worse is that these are lawful in our state; terrorist activities sponsored by political parties and trade unions are legal!
Yet we people are callously indifferent to the declaration of bandhs - another holiday to spend before our TVs, and our bosses cannot fire us. But this seems to be changing.
Assam and West Bengal have been facing numerous bandhs over the decades which has led to a drastic fall in the states’ productivity, huge losses amounting to hundreds of crores to the public exchequers, and serious disturbance to the life of one and all. Moreover, the gigantic losses to the economy make this the worst fear in the minds of foreign investors.
Intellectuals from various spheres have come together in Assam to sponsor an advertisement in a newspaper against bandhs. Social activists, teachers, writers, journalists and others have joined hands in checking this social disease. They have also warned against declaration of bandhs, in which case they are willing to file a public interest litigation in their High Courts.
Kerala High Court declared bandhs illegal in 1997; the matter then went to the Supreme Court which only reiterated the stand terming bandhs unconstitutional and calling upon the election commission to derecognize parties that declared them. This was later reinforced by Kolkata’s High Court.
But even the judiciary does not seem to have eradicated bandhs, which still remain an often-used form of protest.
Being a democracy, it is ultimately left to the citizens themselves to impress upon political parties and other organizations that bandhs are disruptive, highly unpopular, and serve no purpose beyond disrupting normal life. So what do we do now?
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