[Reader-list] Why the media/government chose to ignore peace demos in India?

[Avishek Ganguly]

For Zehra and others...

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=18609

Eyes wide shut, ears plugged

Why has the media and the government chosen to ignore
peace demos in India?

Syeda Saiyidain Hameed

The truth is that governments the world over are
turning a Nelson’s eye to the wishes of millions.
Having glued themselves to the seats of power they
turn a deaf ear to those who stand outside their
bastions, demanding that their voices be heard and
heeded.

Take what happened in our very own watan. On February
15, a worldwide call was given for a global protest
against the impending Iraq war. Millions came out to
say ‘no’ to war. Banners expressed mass outrage and a
staggering number of bodies filled public squares in
London, Melbourne,Paris, Berlin, Sydney, Moscow and
Toronto, apart of course from several US cities. All
over South Asia voices were raised against USA, the
global supercop.

Earlier, on February 10, thousands had taken to the
streets in Delhi. Given this, some of us wondered
whether people would turn up again in five days’ time.
A candlelight vigil was announced in front of the
andhi
Samadhi at Rajghat. The moving spirit behind it was
Nirmala Deshpande, a woman who has become synonymous
with India’s peace movement.

At 6 pm, two rows of schoolchildren stood in front of
Rajghat. How many more will come, we wondered. Slowly
the numbers swelled: students,teachers, professionals,
housewives, women and men of all ages. It was a
perfect evening, cool and clear. As the candles were
lit, children from Kasturba Balika Vidyalaya and
Harjan Sewak Sangh sang songs they had prepared for
the occasion. Banners fluttered in the gentle breeze
carrying the words: ‘The American Dream has created a
Nightmare for Many’.

I saw a family in which three generations had come to
participate. The first generation was represented by
three women, now graceful in their old age. As young
girls, they had jumped into the freedom struggle.
Their
children symbolised the second generation: young
professionals who had been at the vanguard for two
decades. Their grandchildren represented the third,
college students who felt they had a stake in the
future. A young woman, a filmmaker I have known since
she was a child, was there with her two-year-old son
on her shoulder. The lighted candles were reflected in
the child’s eyes.

Later that night, calls started pouring in. Gandhians
had organised rallies, inter-faith meetings, dharnas,
vigils all over India. In Bihar,protests were held in
25 places including Madhubani and Bhagalpur. In
Jharkhand, at Daltonganj. In UP, at Muzaffapur,
Shahjehanpur, Hardoi,Faizabad. In J&K, at Srinagar,
Jammu, Doda, and Kishtwar; in Maharashtra,at
Phandharpur. There were protests in Chennai,
Hyderabad, Bubhaneswar,Mumbai, Kolkata.

How many papers reported this? Did TV channels reflect
the general abhorrence for a war that will train
missiles on innocent Iraqi civilians? What about our
leaders? Did they listen to voices they claim to
represent? If European nations can demand that the war
option be rejected, why has India — the traditional
bastion of peace — chosen to remain silent?


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