Bandhs do not serve the purpose that they are meant to serve…

Although the honourable Supreme Court of India has banned “Bandhs” way back in 1998, still we (the common man that is) continue to bear this form of protest from the political parties, and to be honest, traditionally, such Bandhs have not served any constructive purpose, apart from creating inconvenience to the common man.

The last Bandh that plagued our country was on the issue of price hike of petroleum. Ironically, one of the State Governments that supported the Bandh, levies the highest sales tax on petrol and diesel amongst all states in the country, making these commodities the most expensive in their state. So how can one expect any credibility in such coercive form of protests that are forced upon the common man without any elective choice, especially upon those who earn a daily living? On top of that, people’s support for the cause is also not present, making such Bandhs nothing short of coercion, and eventually turning them detrimental to the actual cause itself. The result is there for all to see. The ruling National Government has not rolled back the petroleum price hike even after the “successful” Bandh. In net effect, the common man has got nothing out of this, but to rub salt into the wound, he has lost a day of his income, which nobody in the hierarchy would ever bother to replenish.

The symbolic one-day Bandh advertises the futility of protest as it detaches anger from any possibility of change. Most of the time it is not aimed at bringing about revolution, it exists merely to express one’s affliction at the current problem. The lack of productivity that a Bandh brings about has been written and talked about a million times before. The organization that calls for a Bandh puts nothing at risk and suffers no discomfort, the latter being completely transferred to the common man with their enforced idleness. Instead of being a form of disagreement to a burning issue, which is what they are supposed to be, more often than not, Bandhs turn out to be a noisy inaction. Hence it is not a surprise that the most “successful” Bandh fails by definition!!