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Indian youths shout slogans as they celebrate Independence Day at the Indo-Pak joint check post of Wagah, India, Monday, Aug. 15, 2011. – AP Photo
It’s the dawn of a new revolution in India. Social activism is a new trend among the commoners. From ‘gandhigiri’, following the principles of non-violence, to joining protests and marches, the citizens are raising voice for their rights.
In the last few years this trend has spread all over, whether small towns or big cities. The recent example is the anti-corruption movement of Anna Hazare, India’s face for fight against corruption. In April this year, he fasted, demanding a law against corrupt politicians and bureaucrats. To show solidarity, thousands of Indians from all walks of life, regardless of socio-economic backgrounds, connected. The fight is still on and Hazare still garners huge support from all over.
As India celebrates its 65th independence day, Dawn.com spoke to people from different walks of life to find out if this is just a trend or an era of revolution. Gay rights activist Pramada Menon says that multiplicity of movements is on the rise. “What has happened in India is that now people are claiming spaces. There are many different things that are happening, in different modes and in different ways. The forms of protests are evolving and I see it happening more in the future.”
Vikas Rewoo, software professional who believes in supporting causes feels that “India is witnessing a change and the foundations of a better India are being laid.”
Major impetus to this swing among the Indians comes form the youth. The recently organised Slut Walk to protest against the injustice and discrimination women have to face was the most talked about. Young students took the lead and decided to make a statement on the streets to attract attention. Ritu Sinha, who participated in the walk says, “Nowadays it is comparatively easier to gather support for any cause as the word is spread through social networking sites, internet forums, mobiles and other means. We have seen a rise in the protests at the University of Delhi and there is more awareness among the students.”
Its not just students, people from the world of business, professionals, housewives, children- in the recent protests have come together. Ajit Punesar, a businessman from north India says, “It all depends what affects you. If the issue of corruption affects me it is time I make a noise and when we get platforms where we can join in, why should we hesitate.”
Social observers believe that this new awakening of the middle class is here to stay and people will come forward to raise voices against injustice. Sociologist Ranjana Kumari explains, “We see more and more people coming out to support causes because politicians have failed them as leaders. The political class is being irresponsible, taking people for granted and do not have any transparency, which is now being demanded by the people. This trend is as a result of the discontent and dissatisfaction among the people who have been let down by the politicians.”
Kumari goes on to add “This century has been a century of assertions. Dalits have asserted their rights for their uplift, women have asserted their rights for equality and justice and this is the strength of a democratic system, to provide space to divergent views. It is a time of upheaval and lot of churning in our democratic system.”
But is this something new for India or has existed earlier. Author Anie Zaidi says, “Right from 1857 to 1947, we have had movements. India may have seen a lull in people’s movements for about two decades. But if you read our social and political history, you will see that new movements were starting up even in the 60s and 70s. In different parts of the country, there were pockets of dissent, disenchantment, and even violent protests. The only reason we are remarking on ‘civil’ society movements now is perhaps that the middle class had gotten used to thinking of itself as apolitical. Now they are taking an interest in political themes and struggles but seem to prefer to align themselves with NGOs or non-political leaders.”
But the emergence of civil society has its flaws. Gopal Krishna, Member, Citizens Forum for Civil Society, says, “The civil society intervention is more symbolic. When there is no one saying anything it makes sense to have at least this symbolism but we cannot depend on this symbolism for any substantive action.”
Krishna adds, “The civil society is working in a political and historical vacuum. Since there is no engagement with history these movements become just clinical strikes. This symbolism has its limitations during the movement and after the movement and the limitations are quite visible.”
Karma Paljor a journalist from CNN-IBN comments, “Many Indians do not practice their franchise as they have lost faith in the democratic system. The constitution of India provides space for all kinds of voices. These spurts of patriotic movements to save the country are fueled by social networking sites and are seen as in thing. But while all this started in a frivolous way this is one way that Indians will slowly come to learn that even their one vote matters.”
Such articles in the Dawn help to bring Indians and Pakistanis together at an emotional level. Afterall, our problems are similar. Both India and Pakistan must learn from the experiences of each other. In Pakistan the masses (especially the lawyers) rallied behind Justice Chaudhury for a cause. In India the masses are rallying behind Anna today. Such movements should become models for the two nations.
Nice reporting by Dawn ! I view pakistan through Dawn. India is now heading towards "transparency"in governance and hence the protests and demonstrations. Congress, out of their arrogance and inherited fascism, tried to stifle the protests by smear campaigns of their rabble rousers and it backfired on them. Indian democracy is maturing and it will take another 10-15 years to make it competitively transparent. Also, India's national character is falling which is actually the root cause of corruption and dishonesty and level of mistrust an Indian has on another. I hope the Indians build up a national character of peace, non-violence committed to make India a better and safe place to live for all its denizens including the migrants from abroad. Our inclusive culture and our roots must not be compromised at any cost.
The RSS Guy
We are going to see a "participative" form of democracy as opposed to the current "representative" form in India. The elected representatives are cheating ordinary people. With UID (Unique Identity Number) and a huge expertise in IT, India will show the next generation democracy to the world very soon.
Yes, we are raising our voice against all such issues. People are standing tall against all wrong things. I would wish Pakistan can see good changes that they need.
Good and very objective article and this also changed my views about Pak Media, Good work and I hope one day Ind-Pak will combine politically to become voice of asia
Thank you Dawn for publishing this article. Karma Paljor statement about many Indians (most likely the masses) not practicing their franchises is right on the mark. Hopefully, it will all soon change with the country's progress in economy and education.
We need the same spirit in Pakistan. If we want to change then we need to act now and be that change. We have India as an example. Wake Up! people of Pakistan.
Nice, but number matters. I think India has strong political system and it is very difficult to challenge it by only thousands of protestors. Need million-march.
m glad to read dis article .Infact to be honest I find dawn newspaper to be quite objective and balanced when it comes to discussing India-Pakistan relations. It is like "The Hindu" of India. Remember it is the media (print & electronic) that shapes the opinion of a common man. I do hope that gradually Pakistani media would portray positive developments rather "India bashing" and Kashmir-centric developments.
rueben george
mumbai
Dawn publish nice articular…hats off Pakistani media…
Yesterday that was 16th August I stood on the road carrying posters for the anti corruption movement outside my office..We had ppl frm SAP,isoft,IBM,Wipro,CGI etc.,I was suprised that ppl turned out on a weekday as I was expectin very few ppl frm that area as it was one of the IT Zones in the city,the ppl frm software sector are notoriously stingy with their spare time..My friends reported the same frm the other IT zones as well..I must say it was my proudest moment as an Indian..
Love to read good artical in reality and hope pakistan will come out of present situation facing. good Luck Pakistan—Hastir (India )
its good to see a neutral media and we also want this thing to be continued in future too…media can bring change in any society and we are also worried abt common man living in Pakistan..common man in India is with common man of Pakistan and i feel at least abt India…and hope media will try to focus on improving the relations btw the two countries not like our leaders doing..and please we don't give care about the extremists in India please pakistani media should also show this kind of tendency…
great job dawn..really u deserve a pat at ur back..
siddharth vats
phd scholar
national institute of engineering, India.
The citizens of India and Pakistan have suffered at the hands of their corrupt rulers since independence. It is time they stood up for their rights and fight the good fight. It only takes a handful of selfless leaders to transform a nation.
i dont know which india is the writer talking about. i think it must be on Mars or somewhere on jupiter.
DAWN WRITERS SEEMS TO BE LIVING IN AND CREATING UTOPIA AND MAKE THEIR OWN SELVES HAPPY.
ITS OK THEN BE HAPPY
thanks DAWN!
Great article on Anna Hazare. I agree with Anup, in that it is good to see a chronicle of the fight between good and evil, it helps us realize the process is dynamic.
Our (Indian) media, who seem to have pledged their souls to mncs, should go this article. Great and unbiased article by Dawn. Keep it up.
I like the objectivity with which Dawn reports India-Pakistan issues without getting into the temptation of "India Bashing" all the time. Attitudes like this change societies for the better.
Nice to see this. Bt the comments r frm this side only…nt ur side . is it tht ppl of Pak dont comment on such articles…
Nice article
Good to read this in your paper, please keep this up and print more good news of friendship and that which is of interest to both countries and its citizens. Appreciate the same very much.
Why is it that there are no such movements in Pakistan???
In India people still have hope,courage and the willingness to bring about change.It's possible because no matter how flawed it is,democracy is still not dead in India.In Pakistan it is the military that is ruling using the fig leaf of of a pseudo civil government.Hope Pakistan too finds its voice against all that is so rotten in Pakistan. I wish it democracy ,progress and happiness.
Dawn usully hesitate to use the word "Gandhiyan" and "non- violence"
But nice to see that both the terms included here…!
How I wish we had papers like this in India! Most of the indian media is pro-establishment, jingoistic and shallow.
Dawn publish nice articular…hats off Pakistani media…
You can see number of people in pakistan who are talking the +ve things about india. We want to see same feedback from indian median as well/
Hi,
Its really nice to see such articals in Pakistani Media Specially DAWN. But i am disappointed at the fact that INDIAN media lacks such attitute about pakistan and Pakistani people.
DAWN is really a DaWN in india pakistan relations.
I AGREE.
Anil, I agree… India is suffering from a massive crowd of newborn TV new channels. But I see that that there are few newspapers who are really unbiased and there I see a hope.
Good to see this but fight between good and evil is an ongoing affair. We have a tendency to slow down and get into self praise mode which stops further progress.
Hoping that this change continues and evolves to make a tangible difference in people's lives.
Ravinder, the fact that I was able to read your article and express my opinions on it gives me confidence that this change will continue. I have found a venue to express myself…. so have many others. The more people are enabled to express themselves without fear, the more are the chances that these opinions will be heard at the corridors of Delhi.