Protests are a very important tool in a vibrant democracy. They allow informed people to register their voice in a set-up where public opinion is often diluted after elections. Protests are sometimes necessary to keep an elected government on its toes and to prevent them from taking their electorate for granted. Protests allow the minority to amplify their voice and ensure that they are also heard. In rare cases, protests become a means for the majority to assert their demands on an unheeding government. Protests, therefore are a desirable part of democracy when used as a catalyst for progress.
However, just as an airplane, which makes the world a smaller place, can be used to cause 9/11, protests can also be weaponised by people with mal-intent. Instead of taking the country forwards, protests can be used to derail its growth and push it into a regressive downward spiral. India has been experiencing many such degenerative protests in recent times. Let us analyse how and why.
The much-publicised farmers’ protests, which rocked the country and forced the government to roll back the Farm Laws, exposed the toxic nature of protests. Only after the laws were repealed was it disclosed that 85% of farmers of India wanted the laws and would have benefited from them! Why then could the 15% minority create such a divisive environment in the country?
The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is a humane law that only reduces the time required for applying for Indian citizenship, and only for the religiously prosecuted minorities from the neighbouring countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
Why then was it met with such violent protests across the country? Why did they receive support from so-called activists? The 75 acres Aarey car-shed project, which has been delayed due to protests, is right next to the 520 acres of film city developed after cutting down the forest. It has more pros than cons. Why then are the few people opposing the project able to hold the government to ransom?
Another question that these examples beget is that if the laws/ projects were beneficial then why did a section of the public oppose them? To answer this, we must first understand the psyche of the current opposition in the country and others who rake these protests.
The Devil
The current opposition is a group of poor losers. They are not accustomed to staying out of power for so long. They had been taking the country and its people for granted and considered their privileges to be their rights. The opposition is desperate, so much so that it now puts power before the nation. They have stooped to a level where they are willing to deal even with the devil, just to return to the chair. Protests have become a weapon in the hands of this desperate and compromised opposition, and they don’t hesitate to use them.
And who is the devil? There are two other sections of people who fuel these draconian protests – the greedy and avaricious activists and NGOs, and the religious extremists. Some of these so-called activists and NGOs that we see actively participating in violent and aggressive protests have only one purpose – to hoard wealth and to gain name and fame. They are like mercenaries, available to the highest bidders. They will take money from politicians (like Teesta Setalvad did). They will take money from ISI, Khalistanis, and other anti-India foreign bodies. They will sell their souls to the likes of purported atheist and billionaire George Soros, and dance naked to his tunes.
They are available for use by the desperate opposition mentioned earlier. They will sleep with religious extremists. Protests have become their profession. It allows them their lavish lifestyles, even if it means siphoning public funds (like Rana Ayub), supporting murderers and terrorists, or working against the country.
Religious conversion agents and extremists are a more dangerous breed of disruptors. They have an agenda, which makes them formidable and something to be concerned about. They are the Islamists who want to establish Sharia Law in India, and the evangelists who want to convert the country to their religion. They are hardliners, intolerant of the religious beliefs and way of life of others. They are murderous, well-connected, well-funded and well-organised.
They form a vote bank and control the political narrative of the current opposition. They have even found a strong foothold in the legislature of the country. We can see the power they exert in their actions – when a Chishti of Ajmer dargah calls for the economic boycott of Hindus when a maulana explains to his followers that violent protests are desirable as they cause economic losses to India when a believer announces an award to behead Nupur Sharma when a people want to establish Dar-ul-Islam and declare jihad against all kafirs, when mosques announce – ‘galive, tsaliv ya raliv’ and instigate a genocide when stone pelters are eulogized by a sold media, when a rapist priest can go scot-free, and when politicians enact laws to undermine the majority. These religious fanatics cause protests in order to further their agenda.
These people light the match, add the fuel, and hold the poker that keeps the fire of anti-India protests alive. They make protests and protesters seditious. They must be dealt with an iron fist.
The People
Now, most common people are what we call headline-readers. They neither know nor understand the laws/ projects as they actually are. The instigators take advantage of this uninformed and ill-informed public. Lies, deceit, money, power, influence, violence, murders, rapes and blackmail are all tools used to misguide and motivate the public to protest. It is important to better communicate with this section of people and prevent them from getting influenced.
There is another section of self-motivated people who are just looking for an excuse to destabilize the country and establish its rules. They generally form a part of the extensive network of religious extremists. Only strong laws and stronger implementation of such laws can keep them on a leash.
While the opposition seeks only to return to power through these protests, the devils they collude with have even ulterior motives. These anti-India elements find an opening through these politicians and use protests to make inroads in the country with the hope of destroying it from the inside out.
The Truth behind the Truth
The anti-farm laws protests received support and funding from anti-India separatist Khalistanis. They saw the protests as a means to once again find a foothold in the country. And they did so successfully, as is evident from the recent Khalistani overtures in Punjab. The CAA protests allowed the Islamists to raise their ugly agenda in India, designed to divide and convert the country. Anti-India elements, including the ISI, are rumoured to have funded these protests across the country. The protests allowed the ‘tukde tukde’ gang to propagate their agenda under the spotlight.
Sometimes protests are also used as a distraction when something, even more, sinister is going on. The drugs racket run from Shaheen bagh, the Khalistani infiltration during the anti-farmers protests, and the involvement of the church in the Sterlite Copper protests that downgraded India from a net exporter to a net importer of copper, the CAA protests where Sharjeel Imam asked people to agitate and cut off the chicken-neck corridor to isolate Assam (Northeast) from rest of India; all highlight the real reason behind the protests. Even a section of the media rallied behind these protests because they are either one with them, or paid by them. The media was exposed when it was discovered that terrorist organizations like the PFI will only speak to NDTV, BBC or the Wire because these media houses will carry their narratives.
The people who are the real reason behind the protests make efforts to create and control the narrative in the country. They seek to destabilize and weaken the country and its government to make it easy for them to realize their goals.
My Protest against Protests
Protests against the government are required sometimes. But protests against the country should not be allowed. Protests that are violent should be made illegal and dealt with surely and swiftly. Equality, as was outlined by Article 14 of the Constitution, should be the only scale used for dealing with the devils mentioned in this article. Law should be designed to prevent appeasement of any by any. Religious vote-banks should not be allowed to exert undue power. Freedom of speech should not be allowed to become an excuse for abetting violence. Those celebrating or calling for murder/ genocide should be silenced. In dissecting protests, and discovering and understanding their anatomy, I hereby register my protest against the growing cancer of protests in India.
(This article was first published on organiser.com)
