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HARTAL, BANDH- WHO IS THE LOSER AND WHO GAINS?

                                   ( A view of deserted Court Road, Palakkad during a hartal day)

I am re posting an extract from my earlier blog concerning Hartals that I posted in 2010 . Shocking to say nothing much has changed in the last 2 years.

HARTAL (REFER WIKIPEDIA)

Hartal is a form of civil disobedience movement. The word has it's origin in Gujarathi which was imbibed by the great Mahatma as an effective tool of civil and mass disobedience movement and an effective protest.

BANDHS (REFER WIKIPEDIA)
Bandhs in hindi means closed. It is perhaps the most feared form of protest where in a political party call for protest and it is expected that the public will comply, in most cases forcibly complied. 

The most affected are the states of West Bengal and Kerala which is ruled by the left parties which has seen the maximum number of hartals and bandhs. In Kerala, the Honorable High Court had banned bandhs. The political parties being ingenious re branded bandhs as hartals and this form continues unabated.

In a bandh or hartal, the most affected is the common man, the very person whom these parties claim to represent and whose interest they claim to protect. For eg, take Vijayan. He is engaged in the sale of vegetables by taking the same in push carts from house to house in a town in Kerala. He is the only bread winner for a family of  which includes his aged mother, wife and three children. Now he gets his lively hood and income from the day to day sale. If he does not go to work for a day, his entire family goes hungry. Or Palani, an immigrant  worker who is engaged in manual laborer engaged in daily wages. These countless unrecognized faces are the most affected by these forms of protests.

The parties get steady form of hands for their jobs from youths who come from under privileged families. For them these parties becomes their support group and they are brain washed early on in impressionable age. They are the main force through the diktat of political parties are enforced

After Independence, we have come a long way. During hartal or a bandh, the main form of protest is to attack a government institution or a government property. What we ought to realize is that these are public properties and if one is destroyed, we the common man are the losers.

It is time we changed our outlook towards these protest methods. What ought to be recognized is that people close shops and establishments not because they concur with these parties but because they fear for the reprisals. An effective method to counter such hooliganism ought to be devised after effective consultation with all the forces involved and a consensus arrived at. it is time there was a change and let this be the time for a new beginning. Otherwise time will never forgive us for our acts.

FUEL PRICES THAT BURN OUR POCKET

                            

                                                                                   

          I had  been out of blogging for the past one month. In this time many things had been going on including coalgate (not to be confused with the toothpaste). Yet again I am not going to write another blog lamenting about the corruption in India. I am a great believer in time and a time will come when there will be a change in the system and all the evils will disappear. So I have decided to concentrate on the impending fuel price hike in India.

In the last two years, the prices of fuel have sky rocketed in India with Petrol currently being sold at about ₹70/- a litre. The continues rise has been attributed to the steep rise in the global crude oil prices. Now the price of the diesel has been increased by ₹5. The government has decided to  ration the number of gas cylinders being supplied to each household every year. In a way, the common man is put to great hard ship.

The government argues the current steep hike on the fluctuating prices of crude in the International market. But is this trend needs to be reconsidered? What is going on in India? It ought to be noted that the government imposes steep taxes on petrol which if reduced would bring down the prices to about ₹59. Hence the present demand for diesel cars would wane away. The government needs to be blamed for mismanagement of the fuel  policies. By restricting the number of gas cylinders to 6 per family, the government has put many families in additional burden. Gas these days are not a luxury but essential needs of any modern family. The present hike is yet another glaring example of the government failing to understand the pulse and pain of the common man in a society where in the ruling class increasingly finds themselves alienated  from the common man.  A policy of implementation and management of fuel prices which cushion the impact on the common man needs to be implemented.

Lastly what is required is a development of sustainable energy resources moving away from fossil fuel which is nearing exhaustion. This is the policy that the government has continually failed to develop in India. Much has been due to the short shortsightedness of the government. Serious research needs to be undertaken in this regard which sadly to say is non existent in India. Gas gusslers need to be restricted. Modern cars like the hybrid ones   like Toyota Prius are an example of how things are developing in other parts of the world. It is time for us to implement policies paying way for moving to other resources. The government is duty bound to take policies by which common man is not severely burdened. Yet again prudent policies are the need of the hour. If the government fails the common man, I am sorry to say that they do not have any further right to remain in power. Let us hope that good senses prevail with the government.

Jaihind