Unfortunate turn of events at Marina

Pic Courtesy: REUTERS

Something very fishy is going on here. People are rejoicing now saying that #AmendPCA was a success as the amendment bill was passed in the TN assembly. If passing the bill was easy enough to be completed in 1 day, then why didn’t the govt/police department wait till the protesters hear the good news and disperse peacefully? It’s hard to believe that they were patient for 5 days but couldn’t wait another day for the protest to end peacefully. There are still a couple of days left for republic day so they could have waited till Tuesday for attempting the eviction. What could be the reason then?

Put yourself in the shoes of a politician.

1. People were no longer afraid to criticize the government/CM/Powerful families.
2. People were uniting without a formal leader.
3. Celebrities had more voice than politicians.
4. People were convinced that protesting would definitely reap benefits.
5. Protesters were getting too cozy with the police.
6. People were being motivated to speak against politicians if seen misusing their power.
7. People were not ready to accept the propaganda that was being spread by the media that the ordinance issued was the ruling party’s achievement.
8. People were even brave enough to oppose the CM’s entry into Alanganallur village.
9. Not only the youth but entire families were coming out to participate in the protest.
10. People from all factions, castes, religions were united and were working in harmony.

 

As a politician, how can you come out of this situation? You either come out as the hero or as the villain. They tried to be a hero by inaugurating #jallikattu at Alanganallur, but that didn’t happen. So to come out on top, he/she must become the villain. A villain that people would be afraid to oppose. A villain that has the upper hand. A villain that would strike fear among the voices that were criticizing them. So how would you do it? Divide and rule. A technique that has been proved to be very effective in our country. Make people believe that ‘Anti-social’ elements had crept in and needed to be weeded out. Create a commotion within the crowd and split them mentally and physically during the ensuing chaos. In the end, people would think twice before indulging in protests against the government. Parents would also think twice before sending out their sons and daughters for protests. Everyone would think twice before raising their voice against the government.

Having said all this, the protesters should have also understood the risk of continuing the protests even after requests to call it off were being repeatedly advocated. Rome wasn’t built in a day. They should have dispersed as instructed by the senior Jallikattu protesters during Sunday’s press meet. Police’s lathi charge was imminent as Republic day was near. The best strategy would have been to wait and see if the promises are kept and to protest again if the promises are broken. The whole protest got its immense momentum only because of how it was peacefully conducted. Defying the orders of the government was a risky move. The way it has ended is definitely not a good sign for the days to come.

Hope the state bounces back up soon.