Banning the “Bandh" culture

I heard the distinct cries of pain. I heard the screams that even the cloth she held over her mouth couldn’t drown. I saw my cousin sister clutching on to her stomach, pregnant well ahead in her third trimester, desperately trying to act fine but every contraction made her body crumble in pain and defeated her resolve. At that time, her husband was on a flight back home and would take another 6 hours to reach. Our car, unfortunately, was on servicing. With no car in the house and no transportation available due to the on-going Assam Bandh, now a more regular occurrence than electricity in most villages, we were at a loss as to what to do. It was our neighbour with their ever friendly smile and old but functioning i10 car who came over hearing the commotion and insisted on taking my sister to the hospital, two hours after her water broke, and that saved the day from turning into a disaster that could have wrecked the family forever.

While on the way to the hospital, I witnessed the lifeless streets- the closed shops, the sleeping rickshaw pullers, the child begging with a bowl without any money looking at our car passing by with hunger in his eyes. When I came home that day, my mind was churning with questions and contempt towards these futile steps taken to combat an issue in this state instead of taking any concrete ones. I wondered if Assam Bandh has become the only way to support or protest against anything disagreeable that occurs in this state.

“Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016”, a burning topic of today but the people who very eagerly celebrated the Assam Bandh weren’t even aware of the core issues, the drawbacks of the said Bill, the repercussions of its implementation and its effects on the State.  More than half the population only celebrated this day as a holiday without even understanding why it was for. Declaring a Bandh without citing or explaining “what for’’ and “why for” or without showing needed rectifications in the Bill isn’t justified.

The state has been mute spectator to innumerable Andolans and Bandhs to address certain issues since the 1980’s but, till date,has borne no fruit whatsoever. Assam is still lagging behind in terms any work culture or job opportunities."The Bandh culture goes against the notion of individual rights and is a stigma on the effectiveness of local governance structures, and is unconstitutional to say the least,” said a resident of Guwahati city, BishnuDas(name changed). It adds nothing to the state except leading to a stunted economy, a tremendous loss for the already deprived section of the society, for example, the daily wage earners like the small-time rickshaw pullers or labourers who depend on their daily earning to feed their families.

“It takes a lot of hard work to provide food for my wife and three children anyway. These kinds of bandhs make it impossible for us to survive through the day. What do I feed my little girl who’s crying for milk that I can’t buy because there was no earning today?”, stated a visibly disturbed Rickshaw puller. Doesn’t anybody care if their child goes without food for a day or about the problems that can arise due to lack of transportation for the people who are sick and pregnant and needs to get to the hospital? Also, what good does the unnecessary violence do- the burning of tyres to stop traffic on National Highways from Jalukbari areas to Khanapara, the destruction of vehicles at Tezpur, the pelting of stones at vehicles carrying students of a university or attacking buses? 

However novel the cause these organisations are fighting for,  but the reality is that these bandhs only end up causing losses up to crores in the local economy and harassing the general public. All people do the entire day is scroll through their social media accounts and troll people or pick up a fight over the issue. This, in no way, can bring the change we so desperately seek currently. To actually make a difference, to get our voice heard, we need to pick up a better stanch, appeal to the government, hold discussions and debates, make the public more aware, sign petitions and send them to the central government. Leaders must work on development issues, building work culture and providing trade, business and investment opportunities for the betterment of the state. Basically, do anything that’s more productive than just declaring a Bandh sans any results that comes to naught except being touted as a festival nowadays.

MANASWITA MAHANTA