SHUT DOWN
It had always been
there down the memory lane. The Cauvery water crisis, the shut downs aftermath
evoked it. I thought to pen it down. Please spare sometime to read it, your
opinion about something is going to change.
It was October 2013; I
was coming to my hometown Paralakhemundi (A small town in Odisha on the border
of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh) from Hyderabad. One of my uncles had passed away;
I had to attend the suddhi rituals on the 10th and 12th
day of his demise. I was very much aware of the strikes/ shut down call by
various political outfit in Andhra Pradesh regarding the Telengana formation. At
11.30 AM I reached my station, Palasa, a small town 45 Kms from my home town.
From there I was supposed to get a bus. But as there was a strike, I thought I’ll
resort to any means of transport available, let it be auto (auto-rickshaw),
taxi or bike lift. I came out of the station. A massive political rally was
going on near the bus-stand. It was organized by a newly formed political party
floated by son of a former CM of Andhra Pradesh. I asked one policeman there, where
can I get some means to travel to my town? He said, I am not sure of if there
are any. But you can check at the end of the town, near the railway crossing,
there can be some autos going to your town. I was not alone, there were many
people. We all reached near the railway crossing, there were autos, but they
were not willing to go. There was news that vehicles are being torched on the
way. I waited for quite time there. I called home. The condition was same there
as well. There were demonstrations on the borders. So there’s no communication
to and fro. After waiting for an hour there was no hope left. I returned to the
station along with all other people. On the way I saw every shop, every hotel
is closed. From my childhood I had loved strikes. It meant only one thing to
me, holiday, No school. I never realized in my life that, a strike can deprive
people of food, water as well. I was sitting in the waiting hall hungry. My
sister called. She told that she had a friend married in that town. She had
informed her & her husband will get lunch for me. At around 2 PM he came. I
was delighted, I conveyed him my gratitude. I started eating eagerly. Everyone
was looking at me. I was the only one lucky there to have lunch. I avoided
looking at others. I continued eating. A few minutes later, I turned left.
There was a poor man, probably a beggar, sitting at some distance from me. From
his face he was looking hungry and miserable. With his miserable voice, he
asked something, I dint understand language but I understood that he was asking
for food. I stopped for a while, a bit hesitant. Something in me insisted me
not to look at him and eat. I did the same. I used to think that, I am
generous, kind-hearted. My myth broke. I was seeing the selfish man in me. I
thought of offering him money, but that would not have helped him, as no shops
or hotels were open. Suddenly money had no value. Momentarily we were living in
a primitive society. Darwinism, survival of the fittest came into play.
That day I stayed in
the station till 6.30 pm waiting for the only train to my hometown. With a
mobile battery about to die, and no friends or relative around I was left with
me and myself. Many a things came to my mind. I thought to pen down some day.
In our country strike/
shut down are a common thing. Political parties, unions, students every one
resort to it to make their voice reach to the govt. I am not questioning the reason
behind the strike, I am questioning whether it meets the purpose it intends to
do? While making the govt hear our problem, are we not creating more problems
for people? ‘People’ is too extensive a word
that may not make you feel the gravity of the problem. Let’s consider the poor
man I was talking about. A strike deprived him of food. I was a software
engineer, if there is no bus, I could have afforded an auto or taxi. If there
were one hotel open and charging twice the price, I could have afforded. But
what about that poor man? He is not just a man, he is rather a symbol of a
quarter of Indian population who are deprived, subjugated, malnourished,
under-privileged. Strikes come up with surge in price for food and
transportation that the poor can’t afford. Every strike has a motive behind to
bend the govt of the day (ruling party) to fulfill their demand. But is it so?
The political class barely travels on the bus or train. So any kind of strike
is not likely to affect them directly. In the process of compelling govt, we
compel the common innocent people. We may be successful in attaining our
demand, but in the process we ll get the curse of the lakhs of people who
suffer silently.
Further the agitators
torch the vehicles, damage the public and private property. It is said that
they do so out of frustration, anger. Here I would like to differ a little. I
feel that people damage property not out of anger or frustration but out of an
assurance that they’ll not be prosecuted for the damage they do. The political
parties, unions have some sort of leverage in getting their man rescued from
any kind of litigation. This gives them the assured impunity or dispensation to
do what they do. There is a dormant destructive/ sadistic attitude in human,
which enjoys destroying things or by harassing people for no reason. It enjoys
others pain. The animal out of the ‘social animal’ comes out, yet people
appropriate it with their cause and name it public outrage. We need to introspect
ourselves. We need to understand that, the evil is there deep inside our mind. Any
damage to property is not borne by the govt, it is indeed borne by us, the
common man. We have done enough of damage in the past, let’s end this. Let’s
make violent agitation and strikes a matter of past. Indian freedom struggle
showed the rest of the world that the mightiest of the imperial powers can be
dethroned with non-violent and peaceful means. It’s been seven decades. Let’s
come together to teach the rest of the world one more lesson on how to make our
demands fulfilled without giving pain to anyone?
Jai Hind…
Written By
Gupteswar Mahapatro
Comments
Post a Comment