Strikes and Hartals

Blooming Stars - Swami (Dr) Snehananda Jyoti

In 2007, a year after I returned from the USA, I had an invitation to inaugurate a major function in a college in Thodupuzha, Kerala. At that time I was in Palaruvi Waterfalls, near Aryankavu, about 4 hours journey by car from Thodupuzha. When I started driving on the day of a strike I was warned of the dangers as the whole of Kerala was on a general strike declared by a major political party. I drove with my wife. The road was clear as we were practically the only ones on the road. In some places I saw some curious police officers looking at us in dismay. On August 1, 2012, I drove from my Ashram near Munnar to Kottayam, about three hours drive, for a very important business in Kottayam only to find out that evening that a sudden and unexpected all-Kerala strike, illegal as well as immoral, was declared by the Communist Party of India, Marxist (CPM), for the following day causing me and millions of Keralites major inconvenience. The strike was declared to protest the arrest of a major politician (district secretary) who was involved in the planning of a well-known political murder. It certainly was to the great credit of the Communist Party of India (CPI) to dissociate itself from the strike even though the CPI was criticized and put down by the state General Secretary of CPM for its non-cooperation with the strike. This indicates that there are still some courageous leaders in the Communist Party to take a moral stance in a morally degenerate climate that is getting worse every day. It was also very commendable that a writers’ guild released a statement on the day following the strike decrying the CPM attacks against democracy. What surprised me most was the lack of moral response from religious leaders who ought to have been outraged at the very vicious and immoral hartal (general strike) that paralyzed an entire state.

The greatest social and political cancer on Kerala society eating away the most precious gift – freedom – won after so many sacrifices including lives and so much prolonged suffering from the colonial invaders and masters. The Marxist Party as the advocate of the downtrodden masses seems to have recently suffered a severe setback after another of its major politician (district secretary) boastfully ranted a list of several vengeful political murders in a public political forum a few weeks ago. It is unthinkable that a state in the Indian Union that has the highest literacy should have sunken so low. The general paralysis effected by fear and learned helplessness has taken over the whole society as political goondas (hired thugs) and goons unleash murderous violence as they indulge in their  dance of death.

A friend of mine recently told me with some kind of resignation to the inevitable that Malayalees (persons of Kerala) queue up before liquor stores and meat stores on the eve of the hartal to celebrate it as they are afraid to venture out on the day of  strike. Most are afraid of suffering injuries from their vehicles stoned and damaged. As I am examining myself, I do not have the courage that I had in 2007 when I drove for hours on deserted roads on that day of hartal. I would certainly like to recover that courage. Looks like I would have to take some risk of injury to my body or damage to my vehicle for the freedom I so much value, and without which life has no real value. Here I am reminded of the words of the American statesman, Patrick Henry: “Is life so dear or peace so sweet to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!” Mahatma Gandhi exhorted that his non-violence was not that of the coward. A coward dies many times in his life while a brave person dies only once. A coward in fact is a dead man existing and going through motions of life but not really living. 

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