In an email from my Dad yesterday, he mentioned that they weren’t venturing to the markets that day, because of the Gujjar protest in the NCR. His remarks were wry, in that he said that people are protesting to be declared backward ! Indeed the reservation policy has taken on a twist with these protests when the Gujjars are actually protesting for such “privileged” status.

I heard it on NDTV too, and saw the pictures online. There were photos of Gujjars mobilizing, vandalizing train tracks and then there were photos of burnt buses. First off the issue seems ridiculous – protesting for a Scheduled Tribe status. Is this what reservations have come to mean ? A crutch to ensure educations/jobs/opportunities ? Could the early politicians of nascent India who thought of the reservation policies ever have imagined such a scenario ?

Secondly, the violent protest and vandalism. Anytime you start disrupting traffic and burning buses, you protest violently. It’s against the law. Anytime your activities cause the common man to think twice about venturing out of the house for fear of safety, you are breaking the law. The state deployed policemen and appealed for calm. But people were wary anyway.

(Photo courtesy NDTV)

Now in the media you read about the effect of the rasta-roko, you see the pictures. I half-way across the world see them. And although it is about the physical inconvenience of having a bunch of goons putting you and yours at risk, for THEIR demands, it is also about the damage it does to the image of the state. It is about the image of the Indian state, a state with no teeth.

Because when you think about it, what do these images convey ? A bunch of protesters vandalising the rail-tracks ? Just that ? What does it say about the law and order ? How much confidence does it give the common man about the state being able to protect it’s people ? Or it’s property ? My Mom, when I spoke to her definitely didn’t give the impression that the state would come to her aid, if she were to be confronted by/hurt by the Gujjar protest.

How much really do you respect someone who doen’t stand up for himself/herself ? Someone who “appeals for calm” to people who violate it ? Someone who promises no retribution to people who threaten to break it down ?

It’s not just this protest, it’s one protest after another. India might aspire to be free and fair, but fairness does have to be enforced. For one community or a group of people to run roughshod over other people’s rights to ensure that they get some advantage is unfair. And besides “appealing” for calm, the state must crack down hard on such offenders. HARD. Hard enough to make other people think twice about disrupting life again.

Protesters must be punished. And politicians like Vasundhara Raje who carelessly make promises to the community about granting “Scheduled Tribe” status like it was candy. Throw them all in jail and keep them there. The common man would applaud.