Bandh Doesn’t Work!!

Today, opposition parties of India have declared bandh to protest against price hike. Offices,shops and markets are forced to close down. Political workers have stopped all kinds of transportations. Daily wagers and laborers are loosing their earnings for today. Patients and people who are ill are finding extremely difficult to reach to hospitals or dispensaries. Petrol pumps are closed. Many people are dragging their vehicles.... and political parties claim that they are doing all these for common people!!

Here, let me clarify that i am strongly against the price hike. I condemn and protest the price hike in my strongest words. It affects life of common people very badly and it’s important to find a solution as soon as possible. But at the same time, Bandh is not a solution at all, as it also affects common people badly. All those who earn their bread and butter on daily basis have to suffer in the end. We must protest the price hike but not at the cost of bread and butter of poor people. We must protest and involve as many people as possible against the price hike but not forcefully. All those who have decided to declare a bandh, do not care about those poor people at all. I am saying this because there are few questions in my mind. Why have they called for bandh instead doing direct protest against the current government in the parliament it self? Why don't the leaders of all opposition parties do Satyagrah and decide to go on hunger protest until government reduces the price? Where are all those big leaders of opposition parties during this Bandh? Sitting in government quarters and enjoying rain? Why these big leaders of opposition are come on road and join the protest? Why don't these big political leaders go and protest against Prime Minister and Finance Minister in front of their houses and not on roads? Are they scared of getting arrested?

I saw a story on a news channel in which they compared this Bandh with emergency of 1975. But during that emergency many big leaders went to jail for many months. Why our leaders are so scared of getting arrested? If all politicians are so concerned about common people, why don't they stop using government cars...at least for a day in one week? I believe that none of these politicians whether they are in power or in opposition do not care at all about people of this country. These politicians have no time to discuss the issue of BPL rather they disscuss IPL in parliament!! Opposition leaders are doing this Bandh just to make their presence felt and highlight their parties in people's mind. That’s it!

This one day bandh (even if opposition declares more bandhs in future) will not make any difference to government's decision to increase price. But these bandhs will surly make lot of difference to poor and common people in negative way. Political parties will gain publicity, talk shows will be organized on news channels, rich people will enjoy the day off from work and poor people will say 'koi fark nahi padne wala..sab log apni roti sekte hai...hamara kya?'

All of us who are concern about the price hike must protest and try to make difference...but we must protest creatively without affecting other people. We should not only protest against price hike but also these Bandhs! I am not a politician, nor a bureaucrat. I am a common man and do not understand this political games. I do not have any hardcore solutions but i strongly believe that This Bandh Doesn't Work!

By the time I finished this article, few national leaders got arrested. I would still say that 'big' leaders are just sitting and doing nothing meaningful for people. (By Gaurang Rawal)