The recent protest against the coming of BJP President, Amit Shah to Shillong by a group that professes to wage a war on behalf of the poor and powerless (Thma Ki Rangli Ki Juki- TUR) by having a beef party is a populist move aimed at drawing attention to the Organisation rather than the cause. The cause as claimed by some of its members was to make known their antagonism towards the fascist policies of the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre. If that is the case why did the English-speaking, articulate group of intellectuals not meet with Amit Shah and debate the issues with him. Would it not have made better sense than merely creating a social media sensation by sourcing crowd through Facebook? Politics is about engagement and not merely about protest. As far as Amit Shah is concerned he could not have cared less what this ‘beef party’ is all about. Again it is a very intellectual class kind of protest which draws its model of resistance from Paolo Freire’s ‘Pedagogy of the Oppressed.’ Freire, however, is very conscious of the fact that to alienate people from their own decision-making is to change them into objects. It is the same as appropriating the voices of the powerless because it is too time-consuming to make them aware what the movement is all about. This is evident from the fact that most of the protesters were educated young men and women. The real “poor’ for whom this battle is ostensibly being fought were conspicuous by their absence. Any situation where some prevent others from engaging in inquiry is a form of violence.
It is rather surprising to note that the same group that posture as liberal, left wing activists who are opposed to right wing politics of the NDA Government are silent when extremists in one part of Meghalaya are calling an indefinite bandh since March 9 last. This bandh too is a punishment on daily wage earners who also are ‘Ki Rangli Ki Juki’, albeit Garo. Or is the group also communally divided in its loyalties? It is interesting to note that among the placard holders is a youth who is participating in Asia’s Got Talent – an activity that Luddites hold in scorn because they see it as bourgeoisie. Clearly the plight of the poor is not going to be addressed by these one-off demonstrations which use sexy slogans and therefore attract media attention.