Protest Etiquette in the Indian Democracy

Five easy steps to become the perfect protestor

Know the Cause

Okay first of all, why would you be against anything Modiji does, huh? Anyway he knows better and kuch soch samajh kar hi kara hoga so you might as well support him by coming out on the streets. God knows what crazy thoughts these terrorist students might put in the innocent citizens’ minds. Either stay at home and watch some quality news on WhatsApp or RepublicTV or go and wave saffron flags on the road. All these infiltrators will change the face of India forever otherwise. What brutality? What secularism? What democracy? Modiji is no bigot okay he does not discriminate only, and what else do these Pakistanis deserve? Modiji has said na that a Bill that seeks to divide people on the basis of religion is not about religion at all so why don’t you trust him even though half his supporters wants a Hindu Rashtra.

Now understand the real problem this Bill address: refugees. We didn’t want refugees when the Rohingya Muslims were in the midst of a genocide just last year (but we invested in the government that was doing the genocide) because we were overpopulated and under resourced but now our 5 trillion dollar economy can support all these non-Muslim immigrants from these evil Muslim countries. And oh, ignore the Sri Lankan Tamils (some of whom happen to be Hindu also) crying about their genocide, or living under a regime with the state religion as Theravada Buddhism. Please okay, Modiji knows best.

As for NRC, whose realisation Modiji and Amitji are divided upon, of course you trust a government that hides data on hate crime, unemployment, farmer’s suicides, electoral bond donors, and its ministers’ education when it asks you to show fifty year old documents to prove your identity.

Educate Yourself

You have to read the shady article your bhakt uncle sent on the WhatsApp group, first. All these activist people are just anti national terror sympathisers, why just go and read the deleted Facebook post from 2007 they made. Don’t trust all these Congress-funded NDTV, Indian Express, The Hindu etc who are sending ground reports. They are all anti nationals and are very popular in Pakistan you wonder why. Only trust Modia that reports exactly what Modiji wants it to.

As for the protestors, all these idiot researchers, specialised students, and PhD professors, with more degrees than the Cabinet combined, people who have spent their entire life studying policies and politics are all anti nationals with vested interest. Of course they are only protesting because they read one twitter post. That Ramachandra Guha is an idiot only, what kind of historian protests violent history from repeating itself or defends the founding principles of our country? Just another stupid anti national. The United Nations and all these NGOs saying they concerned about the suppression of freedom of expression in India are all pro-Pakistan and very biased. Even Oxford university and all these foreign schools releasing statements of support are doing so that foreign students who manage to not get harassed stop coming to India. Its all a conspiracy, you know.

Support the Police

The police knows best okay. They are supposed to maintain law and order and they are doing exactly that, albeit they are using brutal and extrajudicial methods to establish the will of he dominant class. Has a police officer ever troubled you? A little bribe and they go away, no? Such amicable people they are, abusing their institutionalised use of force.

And all these Jamia, Rajiv Chowk, Mandi House protestors deserve what they got, they must have done something only. Why does the police never lathicharge Jantar Mantar or India Gate where all the rich, upper caste, privileged masses go to candle march, huh? And the police support the democratic protests also, see how nice they are to the pro-government, pro-NRC-CAA bhakts peacefully yelling “goli maaron saalon ko”. The police are just agents of the government, doing what the suppressive regime tells them to. It’s not like they want to actively suppress the voice of dissenters and detain innocents on suspicion or fire at protesters and accidentally kill themor beat up minors from Muslim neighbourhoods or whatever they do. It is their duty only na.

Do not Be Violent

If you are an anti government anti national peacefully protesting and raising slogans on azaadi why do you have to fear BJP, RSS,ABVP wagerah wagerah goons who will throw stones or get crisis actors to subvert the crowds, excusing the police to fire? Because protestors can be identified by their dress no, so local BJP workers in Murshidabad will wear skullcaps and do what they can to incite mischief. Good for them. If your anti national university gets broken into by police yelling Jai Shree Ram, and if cops leave a trail of blood in your library and shoot at students and end up arresting random outsiders that is also your fault.

History shows that asking nicely will get you everything from voting rights to emancipation from slavery to occupation in Kashmir; hence violence has no place in a protest. And protests (or dissent, for that matter) have no place in our democratic country, okay.

At the Protest

Guys, it’s very easy to protest safely, rightfully and peacefully. Just wear Modi masks and wave RSS flags and throw some “Pakistan Muradabad” while you’re at it. It’s chill bro.

~sana’a

Another End

How much is too much and how little is not enough?

There comes a point, after the frightened tears and ringing ears, when all becomes numb and you don’t feel anything at all. When horrifying headlines and terrifying tweets make you giggle because the alternative would be crying and you don’t have the strength to do that anymore. So you laugh in the face of utter misery, until the silence stops echoing.

I am not an student of law, or of politics, or of history. But the first thing all third graders learn in social studies class is democracy is the best form of government because the people get to rule themselves. Because they are citizens not subjects. Because its ‘of the people, by the people, for the people’. Because ‘people and their wants’ is the central theme of democracy. I guess disappointment is just something you accept when you grow up. But now that you don’t get marks for it for being politically correct you can go around giving sweets to celebrate the death of democracy. I mean, if your government isn’t studying the Constitution, why should you either.

I won’t explain to you the details or the legalities of that little piece of paper considering history books will include it soon enough, for better or for worse. But I will paint you a picture, of 1.4 million troops (that’s one third of one of the biggest armed forces on the planet) holding guns on empty, deserted streets. I will show you the utter silence where no phones chime or ring, and no voices whisper again. I will take you to the homes of the disappeared, the gagged and the missing. I will paint you a picture of a people without a voice, of a people with darkness in their eyes, of a people erased. I will ask you, and you won’t answer.

On a brighter note; tyranny, forceful occupation, colonisation, ethnic cleansing, genocide? Not yet.

“Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un” and move on or “Inna Allah ma as-sabireen” and wait

The struggle doesn’t end yet.

~Sana’a