[From Rohini Rai] Every soul in the Capital and other parts of the State has only been discussing about one of the biggest protests that Sikkim has witnessed in a long time. Many are of the view that it was an act of injustice on the part of the Sikkim Police towards the students who were raising their voice against the fee hike. Others have termed it as anarchy and lawlessness. There are still others who have called it a political game played by the opposition against the ruling party. Whatever may the diverse views be like, no one can deny the great impact that the political event has left on all of us. However, on looking at the entire event from a wider perspective, and also connecting it to previous events such as the protest at Lal Bazaar and MG Marg almost two months back, we can see another picture emerging which is a reflection of a complex social reality. The visible cause may be the fee hike, the lathi charge or high handedness of officials, but what has really made the “peaceful” people so willing to disrupt order is the fact that their collective sentiment has been deeply hurt due to reasons like systematic inequality, social dissatisfaction, feelings of relative deprivation, etc. Thus, during the time of political unrest, we saw a high degree of solidarity or integration among all people as members of the same larger society such that offence to one member was felt and perceived as an offence to all members of the same society. Furthermore, these events reveal a dynamic side of our society. It shows the social evolution that may be occurring in our almost static society. This social change may occur at many levels- the values and morality may be changing, the way people define situations may be changing, their meaning of politics may be changing. It should be noted here that If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences. Lastly, Protests which are so often considered to be anti-social, in reality do not always have an anti-social element. Protests usually play an important in the process of transition from an authoritarian to a democratic regime. Thus in a larger perspective, the protests like the ones that we have witnessed may undergo incorporation such that they may become a part of the political sphere, may lead to many transformations which could be at political, economic, social or cultural levels and may facilitate democratization.
Posted on: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 07:14:06 +0000
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