By Phrangsngi Pyrtuh
Peoples’ resistance have acquired various hues and color in recent times. On one side of the spectrum is the glorified events praised by the western media and supported by western governments and in some case by international institutions like the world bank. It all started with the Arab spring uprising which was and still is a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protest in different parts of the middle east. The basic cause of the uprising can be traced to various forms of injustices and brutal repression of human rights by authoritative governments and family run oligarchic regimes. Broadly the urgency and speed by which the protest accelerated from one region to the next displays a remarkable sentiment on the need for democracy and equal rights based on universal values of equality and fraternity. On their own most of these events may not have acquired the kind of importance they have thus generated had it not been for the complicit support of western powers to overthrow the same repressive regimes and governments which they have nurtured over the years to meet their voracious requirement for oil and other resources. Democracy now is seen as the only alternative to sustain that exploitation from these lands.
Of course, the transition to democracy is still fuzzy and no one is quite sure if the old order with a new form ( such as the military or other factional elements) would not usurp and sabotage the peoples resistance for change. Along the same lines but with a different agenda altogether we have a peoples’ movement happening in India against corruption under the charismatic leadership of Anna Hazare which touched almost all regions of the country. Led by the middle class whose frustration with the system became the reason for them to lend their support, the movement assumes political significance such as to bring the government of the day to its knees. However, corruption is still too ambiguous a word and critics like Arundhati Roy openly expressed that the movement is anything but one that is against corruption. The 2G and CWG scam is nothing but corporate loot of the most blatant kind but during the Ramlila jamboree there was not a single banner which mentioned the names of the corporates who ironically are the reason for the entire exercise in the first place. While the Ramlila hunger strike episode was unveiled to the world 24/7 through the corporate-backed mass media to highlight the need to bring the Jan Lokpal bill with all its contentious and radical recommendations, the other forms of protest of the humane kind by Irom Sharmila were ignored. Corruption is seen as an obstacle to growth but draconian laws which suppress dissenting voices is deemed acceptable as long as it does not impede growth targets.
On the other end of the spectrum of this resistance now synonymous with the Occupy Wall Street (OCS) campaign in the developed world. This is linked to the dubious bail-out to banks and corporations which were solely responsible for the financial crisis of 2008- the scourge of which continued to threaten these economies and haunt both sides of the Atlantic. The struggle is to address rising unemployment and increasing inequality, something they last saw only during the great depression of the 1930s. The fight here is not against tyrannical rule but pro-capitalist induced polices of the state which is hell bent on protecting and patronizing the corporate elites. The stimulus package intended to help the fragile economy, in fact, only managed to sustain corporate greed for speculation as well as siphoning it off to reward top honchos with bizarre pay packages amidst cuts in general wages and stagnant growth rates. Demands for ending tax breaks to corporations and increasing tax rates on the super rich have been met with severe opposition from a handful of financial powerhouse. So contagious is this hostility towards lumpen capitalism that it spread to more than 900 cities within a short span of time despite the American press’s lack of enthusiasm and reluctance to print any material on it during its formative period.
Along this spectrum there are various other forms of protest and resistance. In this country we can share this concern along with the Kudankulam relay hunger strike against the nuclear plant or the plight of the school teachers (or the College lecturers) of Meghalaya state who have still not received their dues and salaries. The angst and trepidation of resisting a common adversary- the state which shares little concern for its people is formidable. The state will go to any lengths to ensure that its patron and partners in power shall not be inconvenienced from their comfort zone by manipulating the system (no matter if the system has failed again and again). Economic growth which neo liberal capitalists bet their very lives on, has not managed to stop this anger. From India and China (with high growth rates) to the western world (with stagnant and declining rates) peoples’ power has awakened. Whether this would take a revolutionary turn or a systematic one only time will tell. We can only hope that the powers that be realize that the time to act is now -to address the loopholes in the system and rejuvenate institutions and bridge the huge trust deficit which is widening each time this action is delayed. Otherwise everything else would become history.
(The writer is a research scholar, JNU, Delhi)