THERE WERE NO PHOTOGRAPHS of Mahatma Gandhi at the Jantar Mantar protest site, even though the protest had anchored itself in a Gandhian technique: a handful of activists marshalling their physical and moral resources, denying themselves any kind of food. On the other hand, Baba Saheb Ambedkar’s photographic presence was unmistakable. Various “Ambedkarite” groups lent their energy and voice to the music of resistance that got played out at Jantar Mantar.
The Jantar Mantar agitation was aimed at fixing the responsibility and accountability for a broken and flawed examination system. The demand boiled down to the resignation of the then Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan. And once the ‘competent authority’ conceded the demand, the agitation was folded up. But, not the movement. A right to resistance has been reclaimed.
This movement of resistance has to be seen in the context of a decade old authoritarian consolidation of state power—unrelenting and unforgiving. It needs to be recalled that not long ago Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself had led the onslaught against any kind of democratic dissent; he mocked those who questioned the government’s policies and priorities as “andolanjeevis.” That very public ridiculing – serenaded in certain quarters – was a signal to every law enforcer to deal harshly with any expression of dissent or protest from civil society or aggrieved individuals. The magistrates across the land heard the Prime Minister’s message loud and clear; those who dare to question or challenge the authority would be made to feel the policeman’s truncheon and the judge’s disapproval. The ruling party’s echo-system demanded obedience, compliance and consent in every walk of life. No heresies, no disagreements, no independent thought, no critical opinions, and no arguments.
The ruling party’s echo-system demanded obedience, compliance and consent in every walk of life. No heresies, no disagreements, no independent thought, no critical opinions, and no arguments.
The destabilising impact of critical thought
It is in this suffocating context that the Jantar Mantar movement has to be seen as a quintessential Gandhian moment. The young generation was asserting the “swa” over the empowered coercion of the “raj” in search for the ideal swaraj.*
Gandhi placed the highest value on courage and nobility that are basic requirements for any non-violent satyagraha. Courage means absence of fear, a righteous conviction and a noble itch to forgo anger and bitterness towards the oppressor.
Within a space of two weeks the young protestors at Jantar Mantar had dismantled an authoritarian regime’s fear machine. And it was not that only those who had congregated at Jantar Mantar experienced the joy of liberation; young men and women across India discovered their inner voice and strength to stand up for their rights. Arguably the Mahatma would have not approved of some of the slogans but he would have definitely applauded the young protestors’ sense of certitude. In particular, the Mahatma would have been most pleased with that young woman in Mumbai who stood in front of a police van, displaying extraordinary courage and determination. That iconic image of an unarmed and unintimidated woman blocking the symbol of the state’s most raw coercive power makes a Gandhian postcard.
Not only the Mahatma, even the good doctor, B. R. Ambedkar would have lustily cheered the Gen-Z crowd because the protesters were doing exactly what he had preached and practiced all his life: questioning the prevailing orthodoxy. In one of his many verbal duels with the Mahatma, he had insightfully noted the destabilizing impact of critical thought: “every act of independent thinking puts some portion of the apparently stable world in peril.” Ambedkar would be pleased to know how thoroughly the protest has rattled the stable world of the autocrats.
Admittedly, many outfits, of different ideological persuasions and affiliations, had pitched their tents at Jantar Mantar. It was a bit like the Kumbh Mela with distinct akhadhads, each with its own protocol and liturgy, but each reinforcing the common ethical and spiritual values. Similarly, the Jantar Mantar congregation was animated with democratic ideas and constitutional promise in our continued quest for the nature and content of swaraj.
July 20 has acquired a halo. History will record that on that day the activists at Jantar Mantar ended up helping the country break free from the siege that had been laid on democratic and progressive forces.
A pushback against the Hindutva imagination
Perhaps there was a sense of inevitability about the Gen.-Z eruption. For over a decade the Hindutava forces had laid a siege on our collective imagination. A new political theology was promulgated to bolster the legitimacy and authority of the Modi government’s authoritarian proclivities. The ideal of swaraj was distorted to allow the raj to crush the swa. The intellectual climate was too suffocating and too stifling to last for long without invoking a response. The response came on July 20, ---and also came the counter-response when the police was brutally unleashed on the protestors. Within a space of few hours, the Hindutva priesthood lost its moral efficacy.
July 20 has acquired a halo. History will record that on that day the activists at Jantar Mantar ended up helping the country break free from the siege that had been laid on democratic and progressive forces. Nobody, not even Prime Minister Modi, was beyond questioning, quizzing, scrutiny, ridiculing, or mocking. No tricks or tropes could slow down the liberated minds.
The Jantar Mantar protest began with the demand for the resignation of a minister for presiding over a callous, corrupt and compromised examination system; it did achieve that limited objective but the protest became much bigger than its leaders and its geographical location.
Gandhi, Nehru and Ambedkar and other proponents of swaraj sought to strike a delicate balance between the raj of the state and the self of the citizens. Finding an ideal balance and harmony has been the pith and substance of all conflicts and controversies since 1947. A tenuous equilibrium got worked out, with minor tinkering here and there. After the launching of the Modi project in 2014, the national equilibrium was subjected to major overhauls. A new generation has demanded a halt to this overhauling. Thanks to Gen Z , the Hindutava imperium stands stranded in its own infirmities and impurities. Amen.
Note: *For a brilliant decoding of Swaraj, read Ananya Vajpeyi, ‘Righteous Republic: The Political Foundations of Modern India’ (Harvard University Press, 2012).