“When there was no way left for constitutional methods for achieving economic and social objectives, there was a great deal of justification for unconstitutional methods. But where constitutional methods are open, there can be no justification for these unconstitutional methods. These methods are nothing but the Grammar of Anarchy and the sooner they are abandoned, the better for us”. –Dr Babasaheb B R Ambedkar, Constituent Assembly speech on November 25, 1949
Democracy is all about difference of opinion and dissent. Mobilising public opinion and protesting to push for justified demands are also methods accepted and celebrated in democracy. While doing so, we must test those protests on the parameters of constitutional methods, principles of law and order and unity and integrity of the nation. We are witnessing three agitations in Bharat about different issues and varied contexts – farmers’ agitation started in Punjab, Sandeshkhali violence and subsequent protests in West Bengal and Haldwani violence in Uttarakhand. Instead of getting carried away by partisan positions and social media narratives, we must get into the root cause and test the issues on the parameters of Constitutionality.
The farmers’ agitation that we witnessed around Delhi in 2020 was in the context of three bills related to reforms in the agricultural sector. This time around, there is no such reason. At the fag end of the 17th Lok Sabha and when the 2024 General Elections are around the corner, some organisations, mainly based in Punjab, suddenly decided to mobilise people towards Delhi. The modus operandi is the same – massive mobilisation and blockade of roads with unreasonable demands such as legal guarantees related to Minimum Support Price (MSP) for all the crops, loan waivers, and pensions for all the farmers to withdraw from the World Trade Organisations. Some are also raising the sensitive and provocative issue of Khalistan. From the last agitation onwards, the Government has announced MSP to various crops and disbursed the due amounts. The committee was also formed to make MSP more transparent and effective. Surprisingly, agitating Samyukta Kisan Morcha – mainly constituting Communist organisations – did not nominate a member. Since the eruption of agitation in Punjab, the Government has been consistently engaging with the leaders of the organisations. Even when the negotiations are going on, the kind of mobilisation that is taking place not just to draw attention but to obstruct the traffic on the roads is undemocratic. In popular perception, the opposition parties are fuelling this protest to create an anti-Government atmosphere. Using farmers in this political game undermines the genuine concerns of the agriculture sector.
What started in North 24 Paragana district of West Bengal when Enforcement Directorate officials were attacked by a mob when they went to arrest the local leader associated with the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Shahjahan Sheikh, has taken an ugly turn. The ration-scam-related cases are now added with the heinous crimes of abductions and rapes by the same political group. Every day, some incident of violence or crime against women comes to light from West Bengal. Irrespective of who is the culprit, the outright denial or opposition to investigation is undemocratic and against the basic principles of the rule of law. The worst part is opposition parties, who are supporting farmers’ protests with unjustified demands when the parliament session is over, are either keeping mum over the series of lawlessness or protecting the criminals.
Haldwani case is even worse. After the due procedure of law, when the encroachments are removed, or illegal occupants of the railway property are asked to vacate, they attack the Government officials and police personnel. Based on muscle power and demographic strength, the leader of Abdul Malik managed to recourse the human rights card for the encroachers. Defying the course orders and attacking the police are against unconstitutional methods of protest.
All the three cases are meant to demean democracy. A section of intellectuals and politicians, who did not respect the people’s mandate from 2014, are using all faultlines, funds and foreign connections to undermine the democratic processes and institutions in Bharat. These three protests are a precursor to the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections and a larger game to disrupt and demean democracy. We must remember Dr Ambedkar’s warning in his speech on the Grammar of Anarchy while understanding and analysing protests in democracy.
