Once in every four years we have an extra working day in the month of February. This leap year though was a bit different. The extra working day was not quite welcomed, atleast not in India. As a result, a nation-wide strike was called on the 28th day of February to get the counting of working days back to normal. 11 major Trade Unions all around the country called a ‘bharat bandh’ to protest against the Anti- labour policies and demanding a set security system for unorganised sector workers, which was well supported by opposition parties across the Indian Peninsular. Normalcy in life amongst most of the states was affected due to the bandh.
The basic cause behind the country wide strike though was known to a very small section of the society. Everybody had their own say on the reason behind the shut-down that the nation experienced. While interacting with my peers and colleagues I realised that a ‘bandh’ was merely a holiday to them, providing an unofficial but compulsory day off from work. They had no clue about why this happened and neither did they want to know. While some took this to be an agitation against the ever increasing price of necessary goods, others believed it to be a protest of the Left party concerning the ‘Park Street Rape case’. Other versions included ‘the FDI in retail sector’, ‘anticipated fuel price hike’ ‘support for Anna Hazare against corruption’ and even the ‘child adoption case in Norway’. This surely speaks something about the imaginative Indian public but nevertheless it describes how the concept of ‘strike’ has lost its basic purpose.
Where most of the private offices and schools were officially open IT and service sectors did claim high turnout. Schools though officially were open, students took the opportunity to take a day off. I remember being a student I was always enthusiastic about a bandh or a strike. This happiness would not last for long though as I would have to attend the school on a stipulated holiday – a Saturday or Thursday as it may be to make up for the lost day. But still an unplanned off is always welcomed by kids.
The bandh saw a good very effect on the rest of the city of Kolkata as well. An all India bandh was seen after a relatively long time (last one being on July 5th 2010, the bandh on December 1st, 2011 was by traders against FDI and had least possible effect on other sections of the society). People felt quite relaxed and were more than happy to sit at home. More so as the day was scheduled for a decider cricket match between World Cup rivals India and Sri Lanka, fighting their way into the finals of triangular series. Interestingly team India did wonders on the pitch as they pulled off a gem of an innings with the bat. Hence the bandh indeed served as a blessing in disguise for the people of India especially for the cricket crazy Kolkatans.
While traffic was off road, sports did reign supreme. Cricket, football, badminton, basketball were seen all the way on streets and residential compounds. In certain areas like Tollygunge and Bhawanipur children flying kites could be spotted throughout the day. By dusk things were quite close to normalcy. A lot of restaurants and fast food joints were operating with decent customer pull. After a long day at home people were out on a drive with their cars, some taking the opportunity for a leisurely walk, which otherwise is next to impossible in the city.
On the other side, as usual the major sufferers that emerged out of the bandh were the retailors, the transporters and daily wage earners. The sale lost on the given day can never be achieved in future. A taxi driver or an auto driver would never be able to make up for the lost passengers on that day. Similarly, for a labourer who earns on daily basis cannot make up for the labour lost on the day of bandh. While the Trade Union called for this strike in lieu of protection of the labourers and workers they seldom do think of the loss that these people accrue in such cases. This reminds me of the lines from a song ‘Do Jassos’ – apna ghar hi phunk rahe hain, ye kaisa inqualab hai (they blowing off their own houses, wonder what kind of a protest is this?) I don’t say protesting against an issue is wrong but there should be a better way out to show the disagreement rather than a bandh where drawbacks are more prominent than the advantages.
One funny side for me about this particular bandh was the comments made by of respected Chief Minister. She was quoted speaking to the tabloids where she said "Bandh is not the future of Bengal or for that matter the Country. The destructive culture of Bandh has ended today. Let no one have the courage to call a bandh again." Such quotes by Smt. Mamata Banerjee came as quite a shock to me. While she served in the opposition, bandh was a very frequent phenomenon and was used by her as a mojor weapon against the ruling party.
Nonetheless the more important questions that still remain unanswered are - Do bandhs serve the desired motive? do Bands have any effect on the governing body ? how do people perceive bandh? is it yet another holiday to them or boycotting the work genuinely means that the society is in support of the cause? It is quite difficult to land up to a conclusion but bandhs I guess would continue in the manner they do whether or not it makes any sense.
Nonetheless the more important questions that still remain unanswered are - Do bandhs serve the desired motive? do Bands have any effect on the governing body ? how do people perceive bandh? is it yet another holiday to them or boycotting the work genuinely means that the society is in support of the cause? It is quite difficult to land up to a conclusion but bandhs I guess would continue in the manner they do whether or not it makes any sense.
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