Video of Mumbai protest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Lx5Erx8S_o
Priyanka's write-up: February 22, 2010 - yet another Monday when office goers were eagerly looking forward to Friday. Near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) or VT station, people were seen rushing towards just one direction - the huge terminus where serpentine trains would take them home from work, back to their lives where they have many battles to fight daily - water issues, road issues, language issues, price rise issues, etc. But February 22 was a different Monday for these people who have nothing else in mind at 5 pm, other than hoping to reach on time at the right platform to get hold of a seat on the train. As they approached the terminus, they heard voices of men and women were screaming out words of protest. As they neared their destination, they could not help notice a group of about 25 men and women lining the railing to the ticket counter of the terminus, who were holding up placards that spoke about something called 'Operation Green Hunt'. These men and women were also handing out some printed papers which was soon noticed to be strewn in the foyer of the terminus. But they were an energetic lot - a man with a silver mane and in khadi holding up a placard, some young college students singing songs of unity and solidarity and violence, some other youth distributing leaflets and explaining to passersby about the whole set-up, and urging them to read the leaflet before they could throw it. Many of the people rushing home slowed down their pace - some even approached the salt-and-peppered haired folks among those carrying placards, and after a reasonable explanation of what was going on, they decided to ditch their daily train and join these protesters - people from various walks of life who were members of the Committee for the Release of Binayak Sen (CRBS) Mumbai. The protest being strengthened by passersby who felt the urge to join in was surely a triumph for members of CRBS, who had painstakingly made the colourful placards, drafted a simple leaflet for all to understand, and composed songs that could evoke some interest. The new members joined in to scream and sing and shout against the state offensive of Operation Green Hunt (OGH) in states of Chhattisgarh. The protesters compared OGH to a slimy snake that stealthily crawls in the jungle and manages to spread a wave of terror. The songs questioned the nature of democracy where nobody knew who had sanctioned bombs, tankers or rockets; they questioned the conscience of a country's armed force which defied the role of protectors and had become persecutors. The songs were interspersed with slogans which reverberated amid the cantankerous hour of the evening - slogans that denounced mining companies like Tata, Vedanta, POSCO and Jindal; slogans that likened the death of Hitler for any regime that behaved like the Fuhrer; slogans that called for solidarity and unity. For two hours, the men and women tirelessly campaigned to highlight the gory nature of injustice meted out to tribals across Chhattisgarh and other Indian states, where indigenous peoples' lands were being snatched away by the same government which is meant to serve them; a corrupt government which now serves the selfish interests of companies hungry for profits. The same government is now accused of breaking down the morale of the adivasi who silently stands before his land in order to save it from infiltration by miners - his women are raped, his children are killed, his house his burnt, his sense of purpose is crushed. He, who picks up the gun to thus salvage whatever little is left of his sanity, is then termed a Maoist by an unsympathetic government, which then launches a paramilitary offensive against him - Operation Green Hunt. Miles away from these lands which were once upon a time the place of your and my origin, these protesters bent every energy towards getting the 'aam Mumbaikar' to see the Fascist nature of the largest democracy of the world. By 7 pm, when voices now hoarse with screaming and calling for attention and sympathy for the tribal brethren had weakened, and the sun too long retreated into the West, it was realised that 3,000 leaflets were distributed that evening. While only early in the evening were those leaflets seen strewn around, by twilight there was no such spectacle of white papers dotting the paved foyer of the terminus. Perhaps the protest was effective enough that people chose to read the leaflet - small victories that made this optimistic bunch of protesters happy, for the moment, while wishing that major victories come in the way of tribals for whom they had taken the stand to disrupt the usual route of the nonchalant Mumbaikar. -- "After a war, the silencing of arms is not enough. Peace means respecting all rights. You can’t respect one of them and violate the others. When a society doesn’t respect the rights of its citizens, it undermines peace and leads it back to war.” -- Maria Julia Hernandez www.otherindia.org www.binayaksen.net www.phm-india.org www.phmovement.org www.ifhhro.org -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "humanrights movement" group. To post to this group, send email to humanrights-movem...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to humanrights-movement+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/humanrights-movement?hl=en.
