2. Will the Bandh be Successful?

As we all know, a Bandh has been called on 25th April 2017 in support of the farmers' struggle for justice.

"Will the Bandh be successful?" I asked.

"Of course it will be" said my friend Know-All "Have you not noticed the support that has been pouring in from various sections of people?"

"Yes, I have. I can see that unlike many other Bandhs, this Bandh, I mean the call for this Bandh, has received a lot of spontaneous support. There is genuine sympathy for the cause for which the farmers have been fighting. There is also an undercurrent of anger against both the central government and the state government for having not done enough."

"Then why do you doubt the success of the Bandh?"

"I agree that the Bandh will have a strong impact. But..okay, let me ask you another question. Have you, I mean the organizers of the Bandh, considered how the Bandh would affect the lives of ordinary people?"

"Yes, there will be inconveniences. But people will have to bear this in public interest. After all, the Bandh was announced about a week in advance and people have had enough time to prepare themselves for the inconveniences. Moreover, essential services like hospitals will function."

"Yes. Hospitals will function. But how will people reach the hospitals when there is no transport? What about people travelling on that day.? People will have no conveyance to reach the railway stations or bus stands and people arriving at a place will have no conveyance to go to their destinations."

Know-All was thinking how to respond to this.

Taking advantage of his silence, I continued "There is one great injustice about the Bandhs. They affect the poor more than they affect the well-to-do."

"How do you say this?" retorted Know-All "Everyone is equally affected."

"No. The rich have their own vehicles and they can use them to go where they want to. The business owners will suffer only the loss of profit for a day. They may be able to even make up at least part of this loss through higher sales during the days preceding and succeeding the Bandh. But the poor daily labourers, street hawkers and the small traders will suffer irreparable losses."

"Okay. Tell me why you said that the Bandh won't be successful" asked Know-All. He knows when and how to change tack!

"I didn't say the Bandh won't be successful. I only asked you whether it would be successful. By success, I meant the objective of the Bandh."

"What do you mean?"

"Okay. let us say the Bandh has a very good impact. What will happen after this? Will the government come forward to redress the grievances of the farmers?"

"Are you suggesting that we shouldn't protest at all?"

"No. I only asked you whether the Bandh would achieve the purpose for which it was organized. As far as I know, not one of the hundreds of the Bandhs that have taken place in the past has achieved the purpose for which the Bandh was called for."

"Why it is so?" For once, Know-All wanted to know something from me!

"Once the Bandh is over, its impact is also over! Why should the government take any action? The government will act only to prevent problems that may arise in future. There is not going to be another Bandh on the same issue in the near future! But in the case of a strike, the government may climb down and talk to the protesters because the strike will keep causing problems and the government can't afford to allow the problems to continue for long!"

"Well,if the Government doesn't act even after the Bandh, then people will intensify their agitation through other means," said Know-All.

"You mean through other kinds of protests like demonstrations, hunger strikes etc?"

"Yes."

"But they could have adopted these kinds of protests, even without having resorted to the Bandh."

Know-All became silent. Perhaps, he was thinking, something which he doesn't do often!

Tailpiece: I fully support the cause of the Bandh. I wish that the objective for which the Bandh has been called is realized soon. I also wish that people fighting for the cause and those supporting them had resorted to actions other than calling for a Bandh.