Bandh is dead.. An alternative

'Bandh', which literally means 'shut down' in English, has been the most employed form of mass protest in India for decades. The idea behind 'bandh' was that people show their protest by voluntarily shutting down almost everything, offices, shops, transport... Until two decades ago, a day of bandh was not so much of inconvenience to the people. It was in fact an extra holiday. Kids did not have to go to school. Most of the workers were employed by the Government and nobody cared if the offices stay closed for another day. Life was slow then and a day of bandh did not really disturb anything. It was also an easy form of protest as all that one had to do was to stay home all day. So most of the bandhs were 'successful' then.

But things have really changed in the last 15 or so years. We live in a more globalized society now and life has become relatively faster. A day of bandh upsets lot of things, lot of schedules. In today's competitive world, parents and schools are not happy about an extra holiday. Most of the employment is in the private sector and workers have no choice but to go to offices anyway. Shopkeepers don't want to lose a day's business; so shops are only 'half-closed'. A bandh is normally 'unsuccessful' these days unless it is 'enforced' by the party which calls for it. People generally don't like things being forced on them; they show their defiance in subtle ways like keeping the shops open. So a bandh is no longer serving its purpose as a form of protest. And governments too have stopped taking notice of bandhs. As a democratic nation we need an effective form of protest and it is high time we choose another form of protest.

I suggest an alternative. Instead of calling for a bandh, political parties ( or people's organizations or Maoists) shall appeal to people to show their displeasure by wearing a black ( it can be any dark color) arm band or a black badge on their clothes. Nothing is shut down and life goes on as usual. It is also a much easier form of protest. If the cause really resonates with public sentiment, we can see a truly voluntary mass protest. The mood of the nation also can be gauged just by looking at the number of people wearing a black badge on the streets. Governments too can't afford to ignore public dissatisfaction about an important issue like 'price rise'.