Letting off steam

The one redeeming element about the otherwise chaotic political climate in this blessed land is that the recent demonstrations and rallies organised by various political forces have, by and large, been peaceful. If this becomes the norm rather than the exception, it may augur well for the future. Heretofore, most demonstrations staged by political groupings had been anything but peaceful.

Aggrieved citizens have a right to protest — and most of us would uphold that right. Those nursing a legitimate grievance against the system should be allowed to exercise that right. However, this should never be misused or used to the detriment of other citizens.

As it is, we are a protest-prone nation. So much frustration is inherent in the common man due to years of apathy and mishandling that — every now and then — it erupts in the form of a violent protest. When this happens, there is no telling what it might lead to. Tyres and effigies are burned, brickbats hurled, fires lit and public property destroyed at will: all in the interest of the ‘cause’. It is a different matter that, once the protest is set in motion, the ‘cause’ is all but forgotten and all energies are spent on what resembles an orgy of destruction, mayhem and (occasionally) looting.

The question that arises is: can anything be done about it? The name of the game is to divert the energies thus spewing forth into channels that are peaceful and not violent or destructive. This is, or at least should be, the challenge facing the authorities as well as all those do-gooders (NGOs et al) who are so vocal and yet have been totally helpless in the face of the prevalent violence. This is also a challenge that faces the community as a whole. If the nation has to progress at all, it desperately needs to learn the fine art of a peaceful protest.

One logical step would be to open up avenues for the man in the street to lodge legitimate protests with the relevant authorities in a civilised manner. For far too long, the bureaucracy has exhibited a regrettable tendency to either ignore or — worse still — stifle public protests. This attitude has to change. Once a harassed individual gets a patient hearing and is enabled to register a protest, he or she may no longer feel the urge to become part of an unruly mob of protesters.

What often happens is that — finding no outlet — frustrated individuals unite to form a ‘pressure group’ with a view to confronting the ‘authorities’. At this stage, anti-social elements — ever on the lookout for situations of this sort to exploit — take over and the situation spirals out of control. And there you have it — a slugfest of a violent protest that is often witnessed in this land.

In these days of press freedom, the media has a duty to play a positive role by highlighting the legitimate demands of the demonstrators, as also to eschew sensationalism. What is happening at present is that violent protests receive the widest coverage, while a peaceful protest is given the frigid shoulder. It should be the other way around.

The ‘authorities’ should mull over the idea of designating minor ‘protest zones’ in cities — a loose sort of model of Hyde Park Corner in London, if you will — where citizens bearing grievances can vent their feelings in a public place and in full view of media cameras and microphones without hindrance.

Through credible assurances that protest actions would receive full coverage, one could discourage ‘spontaneous’ violent demonstrations.

The ideas thrown up in the preceding paragraphs appear to be a tad on the ‘wooly’ side, but a beginning has to be made somewhere. It is hardly possible to convince a violent-protest-prone populace to change overnight. They will need to be educated gradually and in stages. Meanwhile, there is a need for all concerned citizens to cultivate ‘the fine art of peaceful protest’.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 9^th, 2017.

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