Bandh on July 5th 2010 was nothing but a fearful holiday across the country, with the loss of Rs 13,000cr.
Maharashtra estimated economic loss of 1000cr, whereas 78 trains and 60 mail trains were severely affected. 96 flights were cancelled across India, with at least 47 departures being cancelled in Mumbai alone
Over 62 lakh commercial vehicles remained off road, acc. to the trucker unions. BEST runs 60% of buses. Ten BEST employees, including conductors and bus drivers were injured in stone pelting, all over India. Students skip the colleges and schools remains closed. This is how the Monday turns out in a lazy Sunday.
With the successful bandh on Monday, the Sena and BJP claimed their political space, yet again. Even media plays an important role in bandh; they were nothing but just creating the fearful air in different parts of the city. While debating about it, bandh always emerges as another example of collective behavior. In the past years political parties calling a bandh had to pay Rs20 lakh each in fine. Similarly, even this time they had to pay for destroying public and private properties. Before calling a bandh even parties should think about the consequences of it on common people, people who work on daily wages. Not a single party has thought about the lower section of our society.
According to the American scholar Walter Lippmann, “The world outside & the picture in our mind” has a big difference when it come to realty. Thinking about the Bharat bandh we create a picture of apprehensive ambiance, which has to be a picture of fight from a party [public representative] to common masses that are truly affected by the cause. Bharat bandh has created ‘Paranoia’ among the people.
People have bent to the pseudo environment on July 5th, which was boosted up by media also to some extent. Most of the Mumbai was at home, some of them way out of bandh. The attendance at Mantralaya was about 36% & BMC 43% even when government declares harsh actions against absentees. In Cidco’s Belapur office, attendance was 70% & spokesperson Mohan Ninave said people reached office before 9.30am. But corporates like Tata & Birla group companies, Reliance Industries, Standard Chartered Bank, among others, had very thin attendance. Several companies’ gave their employs a choice to work from home or from a closer branch to their home. Even though it was bandh people were working, so one must think to what extend the bandh was supported by the people.
Price rise of fuel have fired up the issue of Democracy in India. Democracy is about majority but it doesn’t permit us to hurt minority, Honor killing is not a democracy. According to Lippmann, Democracy is of no use in its present form. And even restricted press is futile for country. He says “Newspapers are getting complex day by day, they depend upon police, hospitals and other government sectors for news so the news which public is getting is a distorted form of news.” So even when the bandh was called by oppositions SOME WORK, SOME DON’T BUT INDIA RUNS ON TRACK THE VERY NEXT MORNING.
