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Captive Capital


Image courtesy Google

New Delhi, the capital of India, the Heart of the Nation, is under siege. The city-state is held captive by around 150 to 300 thousand farmers from various states in India. These farmers are opposing the three Farm Acts passed by the Parliament of India in September 2020. What are these Farm Acts? Why are these farmers protesting against these acts? I am not going to discuss them here. I am sure that the Government of India passed these acts with the intention of Farmers’ welfare. And I am also sure that Farmers may have some genuine concerns regarding these acts, which they are afraid of, hence the protests. However, what I would like to point out is the new trend in our country. Protesters are holding the capital to ransom and disrupt the lives of people living here.


As witnessed in the Shaheen Bagh protests, where a sit-in protest led to a blockade of a six-lane highway, for 101 days, from 11 December 2019 till 24 March 2020, a new disruptive form of protest raised its head in India. This time the farmers have blocked all the entry points to the capital. They have cut the supply of essential items to the state and turning it into an open prison and its residents as prisoners. The irony of this entire unfolding drama is that the elected government of Delhi is supporting the captors. Instead of working with the central government to find a quick resolution to the impasse, and to end this disruption, the Chief Minister of Delhi was seen asking the people of Delhi to observe a 24 Hour fast in a show of solidarity with the farmers. 


The opposition parties in India are rapidly becoming redundant with each election. Their inability to project leadership to counter the charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is forcing them to look for new ways to disrupt the government work. Their dwindling numbers in both houses of the parliament is only making matters worse for them. Most of the big states are under BJP rule, so no support from there. But unexpectedly, a new weapon fell in their hands when the Shaheen Bagh protests took place. Political leaders realized that by laying a siege to the capital, they can bind the government’s hands behind the back. By barricading the capital, they can now take every domestic issue to international forums, thereby slandering the image of the country, to further their political ambitions. Moreover, that gives a chance to a few heads of states to poke their noses in the internal matters of India, at the behest of some powerful and influential radical organizations. These protests also act as fodder for the revival of some ultra-radical forces, intending to break this country into pieces. But no one minds that till the time their political stock is on the rise.


Every act passed by the government is bound to cause some inconvenience to a section of citizens. And they have every right to protest against that legislation and voice their opinion. But when that protest starts to affect the lives of millions of citizens of the country, then that protest infringes upon the right to life of those people. And it is not just the opposition that is to be blamed. The government at the center also needs to share the blame for this almost militant form of protest. Choosing not to take police action to stop 10 to 15 people from blockading the road at the start of the Shaheen Bagh protest, for whatever political reasons, emboldened the protesters to gather in thousands and hold the city to ransom. Again by allowing the farmers to reach Delhi in large numbers and blocking the borders, was another mistake. These inactions by the government will only embolden future protesters. For every act the government passes, the people of Delhi would expect a mob marching towards Delhi.


The inaction of the Government and the Police, forces the people of Delhi to take recourse towards the Supreme Court of India. But that cannot be the solution every time. Citizens of Delhi are already suffering because of the constant bickering between state and central government, which only acts as an excuse for non-governance on the part of both the center and the state government bodies. And on top of that, these continuous protests make their lives miserable.
It is high time the government comes up with regulations regarding the protests. There has to be a guideline in place for the protests in the country. These protests should not be allowed to affect the life of ordinary citizens. Our government should take a leaf out of the book from Japan, where the demonstrations and public protests are subject to regulations. In Japan, the protesters need a permit from the local authorities to hold a protest. They need to specify the kind of protest they will undertake a sit-in or a march. If they choose a protest march, the police and the leaders of the protest group, must ensure that they do not affect the traffic movement, and do not cause trouble to the residents. You all can find a detailed process followed in Japan in an article using the following link:


https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/06/05/national/dos-donts-protesting-in-japan/


There is a pressing need in India to move towards the civilized world. Not every small issue should lead to national strikes, Bharat-Bandh, blockage of roads and highways, burning of public transport, and violence. The livelihood of the farmers should be of utmost importance to the government, but so should be the lives of all the people living in Delhi or any other part of the world. If an act passed by the parliament is so bad for the farmers or any other section of the people, then let the leaders supporting the protests form a joint action group and speak to the government, and if there is still disagreement, then these leaders, should follow the path of Gandhi and use the non-violent method of indefinite fast unto death, and not a symbolic 24 hour fast. Let these leaders take initiative and put their lives at stake for the people they represent. Jokes apart, it is high time the government comes up with a regulation to ensure that in the future no such protests should hold the Capital as Captive.

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