Slogans such as “Secularism up up” and “Communalism down down” echoed through the streets. Around 500 people, ranging from college students to writers and performers, congregated at Valluvar Kottam on a warm Saturday morning to protest against rising violence and mob attacks at Chennai’s recent #NotInMyName (NIMN) protests. Punch lines were blunt and the event had a distinct carnivalesque flavour. There was something instantly welcoming, whether you were an activist or not.
Over the last few years, perhaps ever since the 2015 floods, the texture and mood of protest marches have altered in the city.
Jallikattu marked the coming together of young people, says environmental activist Nityanand Jayaraman, who was at the forefront of the #NotInMyName protests, renamed Break The Silence. “It was followed up with conversation on what is wrong with urbanisation and talks on multi-national companies, job insecurity, corporate rule, corruption, combined with a streak of Tamil nationalism. A lot of disenchantments were manifested.”
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These newer protests drift away from conventional formats like the dharna and hunger strikes. For instance, the city’s ninth Rainbow Pride March that took place recently, was filled with humour, music and colour. Activists, students and sex workers jived to lively drumbeats dressed in rainbow masks and feather boas.
“The Government has also turned quite jaded towards the older forms of protest,” says Satwik Gade, a freelance illustrator who associates with Vettiver Collective, one of the organisers of NIMN. “We need to turn things around and make it fun for protesters, as well as make an impact. If you can have a Saturday night protest instead of Saturday night club scene, that will work. That’s also the relevance of an event like Justice Rocks (an annual music meet-up, built around a cause), through which we want to keep a battery of musicians and artistes actively contributing.”
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For the indie artistes, these spaces are a great platform to showcase work. Kaber Vasuki, an independent song writer, who has been associated with Justice Rocks, and the lyrcist of the viral rage, ‘Chennai Poromboke Paadal’, says after working with the Vettiver Collective and their associated social and environmental justice movements, his music has undergone a perspective shift. “I could see my songs also changing. When I brought out my first album, I wrote mostly about my hopes and dreams. Now, I was looking at things with more depth. My writing turned more thoughtful.” Culture does not mean just music and poetry. It could also be lectures, says Jayaraman. “However, music and sloganeering make it more cathartic and appealing, as everybody wants to participate. Slogan shouting allows them to do that. When you listen to good music, the audience is as much a performer.”
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There has been a paradigm shift after the floods and Jallikattu uprising, says Archanaa Seker, a Vettiver Collective volunteer. “There is more civic society participation. I have different views on Jallikattu, but it came from people’s desire to bring about a change. It offered an opportunity to protest.”
Students also became an inseparable part of these spaces, especially during Jallikattu, says S Mustafa, the president of the Tamil Nadu division of Campus Front of India. He, along with his cadre, joined in the NIMN movement. Mustafa says more student organisations are participating in movements both inside and outside the campuses. It is a nascent development. “You cannot compare the political activity in Tamil Nadu colleges with the campuses in other states like Kerala, because they are any day more vibrant. However, the student community in our State is also growing more politically aware.”
The most interesting aspect of these contemporary city-based campaigns so far, evidenced by the spontaneous flood relief work and post-Vardah work, is that you do not see any party flag or an ideology banner taking ownership of these movements. In the case of #NotInMyName, there were people from different organisations, but none represented a party or an ideology, says Pooja Kumar, one of the volunteers from Vettiver Collective. “Social media has also allowed all possible voices to be heard. No one is a gatekeeper for any opinion now. It allows for everyone to contribute in their own way. There were people who could not be at Valluvar Kottam on July 1, who tweeted pictures of them holding placards. And, isolated events in college campuses also attracted eyeballs. The sheer number of people showing their solidarity also determines how big and impactful the campaign is.”
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These meet-ups are convergence points for multiple political discourses, ranging from demonetisation and flaws in urban planning to the issues pertaining to development. “It is always a manifestation of a greater problem. Gender, rape culture, caste, misogyny, abuse of the environment; all these are interconnected. Often, we do see these problems in isolation. While it is okay to highlight one issue, we can never limit a movement to just one,” says Jayaraman.
