Bharat Bandh !!! :: Worth it ? ? ?

Wow BHARAT BANDH! ! !. . . . . @again? ? ?

Bandh: A boon or a bane for the common man?

This article is with reference to the recent ’’ bharat bandh’’ that took place on the 5th of July 2010 in protest to the hike of petrol and diesel fuel prices. The poster reasons for the bandh were obviously the poor and middle class citizens but let’s analyze how beneficial it actually was to them and how successful it was at the end of the day.

According to me, the so-called projected benefiters were the actual sufferers during the bandh day. This conclusion will also reflect to the numerous bandhs that have taken place and to those infinity bandhs that are on their way to the people.

Briefly, A bandh ,is supposedly ,an united protest by the people all over the country in which people them self cease all their works in order to raise voice and throw a say that they aren’t willingly liking the action taken by the government or that they intend a change for the easy progress of the nation.

To start with during the bandh day, 5th of July 2010, in Visakhapatnam, The rain was pouring all through the day and with the given conditions of the tempered roads, the mobility across the city was becoming all too difficult and added to it all the public transport was stranded and there weren't any auto rickshaws or even local buses that commute people from one place to any desired location as per bandh protocol. Also added to it were the The Activists : The so-called, pro people-pro-Bandh-Pro People well wishers and anti-price hike, dawned in their political party colours, were flourishing all over the city roads , waving their flags and shouting all their way-for reduction of the prices of petrol. Added to this, They were also forcing people and others, who were commuting between their destinations and running their own private business as per their own fundamental rights, to shut down their works and head back home, Which is against democracy and the fundamental rights provided by the constitution to the people and I am sure there isn’t any so called- bandh protocol-that can overcome these rights but everyone keeps succumbs to the bandh protocol which is very interesting to note.

As I was wandering across the city along with my friends Alex and Vamsi, in an attempt to fetch some cash from the ATM and convert it to a Demand Draft, so the later friend can acquire his long awaited admission into his dream B school. Thanks to his luck, He is currently pursuing his studies in the very B school to which we were supposed to post the Demand Draft the same day, though all the attempts went futile for that day, thanks to the activists who managed to sneak into the bank just as he was about to transform his cash into Demand draft and would have managed to get it done, had he been at the bank with the money fifteen minutes earlier but again, Thanks to our own activists, as they managed to get my friend along with few other public stuck in an ATM booth for quite some time while he was attempting to with draw money from there. We went around the city for not less than 5 hours –from one bank to-almost all the banks –all across the city, calling it a day only after we were assured that the activists have managed to shut down the city and country to a pause.

Indeed a great Job, Ain’t it? They almost got a well deserved-future-earning citizen of the country from losing his path towards his dream and at this point it insists me to wonder, How many other students all across India were put into trouble this way and how many have the activists managed to axe down in life quest and in turn turning them to frustrated anti social elements? Well this very thought assures great kudos to the great activists and their Bandh. Likewise, how many sick people must have been prevented from reaching hospitals and service centres due to stoppage of public transport and fears of vehicles being thrashed by the activists. How many lives must have the bandh taken toll of? All across the nation, the bandh could have successfully managed to cut down the population in some minute percentage at least.

As we move on from one department to another, I can only see more of harm caused to the average middle class rather than good that was actually intended to be done. We, while moving across banks, witnessed so many people standing-getting drenched-in rain, waiting for any damn transport to reach home and escape from the bandh chaos.

Needless to mention, the loss of crores of rupees that was caused to various departments like for example the state road transport services due to null operations and also infrastructure loss from the busses that got burnt to ashes-probably -as a style statement by the bandh activists, But these departments have their own ways to recover their losses, by levying extra charge on tickets which again mount on the pressures already on the average middle class families. And the heavy infrastructure loss that is gained by our activists by damaging whatever they see on the roads and again, who is going to pay for all these loses? The public taxes, i.e. we the common middle class people again. I wonder what motivates them to take violent paths causing trouble to common man-fighting for the common man, while quoting Gandhi as their role model for one and all purposes.

The common middle class man becomes a toy between the political parties, who is played and fiddled with by both ruling and opposition for their benefit and greed to acquire power. The activists, The tools they employ in these games , only few of them realise that they too fall in to the middle class family and at the end of the day, they are the ones who are doing extra work and payments to recover the loses they causes. The politicians forget that they are working for people-if they weren’t working for money-if only they aren’t-but I am sure as much as you are- they are all-except for a few they are working for that –only-only and only for money.

Now we see, after months had gone by after the protest, We see that the common man has moved ahead with the price hikes and the government is moving ahead in thinking of levying extra charges but the bandh hasn’t caused any good rather than only harm and harm from all over

I Wonder what the upper and lower houses of representatives if for-if the issues pertaining to public life are to be debated and decided by means of bandhs which are even more harmful than the cause of bandhs.
Only way out is to SAY NO TO USELESS BANDHS called on by political leaders - and instead follow powerful & peaceful protests if the issue is indeed demanding and needs to be fought for protecting our lives and our rights provided by the constitution of India.

Educate to Eradicate Poverty: it’s only when you and me are ‘together’ –we can bring a change