Will the ‘bandh’make a difference?
An unlikely ‘rainbow coalition’ of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Left parties, Regional outfits like the Telugu Desam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and some other non-Congress parties achieved a significant success in yesterday’s ‘Bharat Bandh’, called against rising prices. Expectedly, the bandh was total in all non-Congress ruled states except Punjab and Tamil Nadu. But it also made a significant impact in Congress-ruled states like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Goa. The states where it had less impact were Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Assam.
The impact of the bandh was clearly visible. Hundreds of flights and trains were cancelled. In Kolkata, even the government-run Air India operated flights only till noon, shut down, and then resumed operations only after the bandh was called off at 6 pm. Taxis and autorickshaws were off the road in most states. In the national capital, even the hi-tech Delhi Metro services were affected. Over 80 flights to and from Mumbai were cancelled. In Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, even private vehicles stayed off the roads.
While it may have been called after the central government raised petrol, diesel, kerosene and cooking gas prices on 25 June, the bandh got backing because ordinary people are angry with runaway food prices that have made it difficult for them to make ends meet. The ruling UPA government has been promising since it came to power for a second time last year, that prices will start to go down “after a few months”. The promises have proved false time and again; prices have steadily continued to climb. But even the most responsible leaders like Prime Minister Manmohan Singh continue to say that inflation will “peak” and then start to move down, “soon”. So far, this formidable economist-statesman’s predictions have been proved wrong at least twice; why should people believe that his third prediction will be proved right?
The latest fuel price hike, which has set off this latest wave of protest, is likely to push up monthly price rise by an additional 1 per cent. Inflation according to the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), was at 10.16 per cent in May. In terms of the retail prices the common man pays, it translates to a 17 to 20 per cent rate of inflation in food and other essential commodities, a burden that has become nearly impossible to bear.
The irony of such protests is that the ultimately, it is the people themselves who pay the price; in loss of earnings – which affects mainly poor daily-wage workers – loss of business for closed establishments, and in the damage done to public property by bandh enforcers, like in Mumbai yesterday, where dozens of buses were burnt. It is not a system of protest that must be encouraged. But occasionally, just occasionally; it can send a strong message to an unfeeling government like no other.
Greatest race
Amid the high-volume fanfare of the FIFA World Cup 2010 and the Wimbledon Tennis championship, a rather more low-key event has kicked off in Belgium. It is the ‘Tour de France’, the world’s greatest cycling race and most difficult endurance event on Earth. Over 21 days, the world’s top cyclists will ride a punishing 200 km a day, rain or shine, over the Pyrenees and the Alps, and across the picturesque French countryside.
Overcoming a series of high-profile doping scandals over the last few years, the Tour has re-established itself as one of the planet’s greatest sporting events. This year, seven-time champion Lance Armstrong is making a bid to win the race for a record eighth time. A live telecast is available each evening on Ten Sports.
