Bandh-A Weapon Of Protest

Yesterday’s Bharat Bandh was practically eventless. Such is normally the nature of what the opposition say state sponsored bandh.These bandh are primarily of ‘Veg’ nature where as in Non-Veg bandhs, normally called by opposition, public transports are burnt and as a result violence erupts, police chase the miscreants who freely and fearlessly throw both veg and non-veg missiles, sound pollution far exceeds the permissible limit and city streets assume the look of battle field. However, the bandh-enthusiasts are not to blame for this lack-luster nature of govt-sponsored bandhs as they find no public vehicles to set on fire on roads to create a violent ambience that would trigger a chain reaction.Notified much earlier that bandh will be held, people normally reschedule their programs and keep themselves shut indoors enjoying a state sponsored holiday. Only the unfortunate few who have the exigency of stirring out really get in to trouble.However.what’s unfortunate such almost incident free bandhs starve the media of fodders for news materials. They only go on chanting as on earlier occasions that bandh can deliver no goods and rather do immense harm to our economy, which’s partly true. It’s no denying the fact Bandh is a democratic weapon of registering protest, but frequent use of this weapon has made it blunt. It’s not fault of the bandh itself, fault lies with those who use it on frivolous ground. True, yesterday’s bandh won’t decrease the price of essential commodities today, but it would send a message to the appropriate authority that people are not taking this abnormal price-hike lying down.