7 Comment(s)
In Protest of Bandhs..West Bengal and and its largest city,Kolkata is not at all perturbed that it has gained the dubious distinction as the state and the city with the largest number of bandhs...
Democracy is truly alive and thriving here-Bandhs we are told are a peaceful means of protest,the only weapon in the hands of the ordinary citizen against the might of the state......What about the ordinary citizen's right to go to work and earn his livelihood with dignity and safety??
So there's a bandh to protest government orders,police firing,sacking and reinstatement of officials,bad weather,foul play against Sourav.....the list is endless.....the reason could be anything...rain,cloud,sun,wind....all this and more...
And what about the problems faced by the ordinary citizen---rising crime,bad roads,polluted environment,traffic congestion,crumbling infrastructure,eve-teasing,stench and stink and horror all around??Do these evoke any kind of response from the voluble critics of the government?Or are these not important enough?
The ordinary citizen after all is just that-ordinary...leading lives filthier than that of gutter dogs.....whose need is felt only during elections and sometimes not even then....these men and women who are out on the streets rushing to and from work are vermin on the streets whose voices hardly matter.....they are the working class to be used and thrown and crushed at the state's will....
So we continue to be the only city where bandh-culture is thriving and where democracy can never be smothered--a city,a state that calls bandhs against its own.....this,the city of intellectuals doesn't mind doing that--a bandh means an excuse to stay at home after all!!Bandhs are our only legitimate means of protest,protests the octogenarian,ailing leader from behind his pince-nez!
What does the Governtment do?Protests vehemently....says everything is normal..... office-goers can go to work.....but no assured means of transport in sight!!Thousands of policemen on the streets to protect the ordinary citizen against violence,stare helplessly all around and clueless as always!!!
To see the state of the city that once commanded the nation--reduced to calling bandhs every time the sun rose late or the moon wasn't bright enough--this,its only means of calling attention to its existence is a tragic pointer to its state of affairs......
Democracy is truly alive and thriving here-Bandhs we are told are a peaceful means of protest,the only weapon in the hands of the ordinary citizen against the might of the state......What about the ordinary citizen's right to go to work and earn his livelihood with dignity and safety??
So there's a bandh to protest government orders,police firing,sacking and reinstatement of officials,bad weather,foul play against Sourav.....the list is endless.....the reason could be anything...rain,cloud,sun,wind....all this and more...
And what about the problems faced by the ordinary citizen---rising crime,bad roads,polluted environment,traffic congestion,crumbling infrastructure,eve-teasing,stench and stink and horror all around??Do these evoke any kind of response from the voluble critics of the government?Or are these not important enough?
The ordinary citizen after all is just that-ordinary...leading lives filthier than that of gutter dogs.....whose need is felt only during elections and sometimes not even then....these men and women who are out on the streets rushing to and from work are vermin on the streets whose voices hardly matter.....they are the working class to be used and thrown and crushed at the state's will....
So we continue to be the only city where bandh-culture is thriving and where democracy can never be smothered--a city,a state that calls bandhs against its own.....this,the city of intellectuals doesn't mind doing that--a bandh means an excuse to stay at home after all!!Bandhs are our only legitimate means of protest,protests the octogenarian,ailing leader from behind his pince-nez!
What does the Governtment do?Protests vehemently....says everything is normal..... office-goers can go to work.....but no assured means of transport in sight!!Thousands of policemen on the streets to protect the ordinary citizen against violence,stare helplessly all around and clueless as always!!!
To see the state of the city that once commanded the nation--reduced to calling bandhs every time the sun rose late or the moon wasn't bright enough--this,its only means of calling attention to its existence is a tragic pointer to its state of affairs......