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Hartals hurt all

For whose sake? Every hartal comes with its share of inconveniences but we have one almost every week

Yet another hartal has come and gone. On top of the monsoon fury, the epidemics, the mosquito menace, the pot-holed roads, the clogged drains, the traffic snarls (crawls?), the mounds of waste heaped all over the city and what not, the inhabitants of Kochi have been subjected to this avoidable torture twice within a span of five days.

These days people rarely enquire about the reason for a hartal. The court banned bundhs. So our state now has hartals! The causes can be anything ranging from the injuries suffered by someone in an inter-party clash or a lathi charge, a hike in the price of petrol or the onset of an epidemic (luckily the hartal announced for this cause was later withdrawn).

The whole state comes to a standstill. The schools are given a holiday. Factories and offices record a huge dip in attendance and productivity. Buses, taxis and autos are off the road. Shops and hotels are closed. Hundreds of travellers are stranded at airports and railway stations. Thousands of office goers are forced to lose a day’s precious leave and labourers lose a day’s wages. Lots of patients are unable to get medical attention for want of conveyance. Tests, interviews and meetings get postponed or even cancelled.

And yet we all grin and bear it.

Is it the same story all over India? . “No,” says Narayanan, a bank officer who has served in other states, “In Chennai, on the hartal or bundh days, buses, autos and taxis ply as usual and most shops are open. A few processions (which keep to a side of the road) provide the only sign of the bundh.

I wonder why in Kerala alone everyone tamely submits to the hartal-organiser’s demands.” Kishore, a Kochiite studying in a college in Bangalore phones in to say that all vehicles plied as usual and the shops were open in the city on the day of the national strike, August 8.

An office goer in Kochi says, “Those who have scooters can attend office. It is those who depend on public transport who suffer. All parties talk about socialism, but on the hartal days it is the common man who is affected. The well-to-do have their convenient ways of circumventing the hurdles”.

Paul, a casual labourer says, “There are no buses or boats .We are forced to miss a day’s wages for no fault of ours.” Rema, a domestic help concurs with the view. “If two parties clash and someone is injured, why should a whole state be held to ransom? No wonder prospective investors who tasted hartals in Kerala chose to invest elsewhere,” fumes Ramachandran who works in an insurance firm.

“ By paralysing work and life for a day and causing immense hardship to everyone, does anyone benefit?

Does the price of petrol come down or does the government change its allegedly “anti-labour” policies after a hartal?”, asks an indignant Jose, who works in a private firm.

A self-employed person, Ajit, remarks, “The hartal organisers are taking away the citizen’s basic rights like freedom to work, and freedom of movement. But we never see these hartal organisers being pulled up”

Auto and taxi drivers and traders tell you that they too are forced to sacrifice one day’s income for no reason. “On the hartal day anyone can pelt stones at your vehicle or shop and get away with it,” says a trader.

“The common man has no organisation to fight for him. That is why he is forced to suffer meekly,” remarks Das, a teacher.

And will the ‘meek inherit the world’? Hopefully.

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