Private Armies of India

The Private Armies of India

It’s an old saying, freedom also needs responsibility. One needs strength to save oneself from others, and one needs sensibilities to save one from his/her own follies. This is as true for individuals, communities as well as nations.

For that reason, a country gives to itself a constitution. It’s a guideline for a society, meant not just to protect the weak from the strong but also to protect the strong from themselves. As the sensible know that everyone has different strengths and should be allowed to grow and contribute in his/her own way to the benefit of all. Hence, there are laws (thousands of them) and a process to get justice (painfully slow).

The genie is out of the bottle:

The inability of the state to deliver justice causes frustration in individuals or groups. That’s an opportunity for politician on all sides, left right or centre. Political parties have member who are sometimes also called activist. They are actually private armies of party leaders. Private here meaning they take instructions from individuals and armies, as they are armed and don’t think before using it.

This sena, that sena, this student union, that parishad, this cadre, that youth wing. They come in all colors, orange, white, red, green, blue etc. These people know, they can get away with murder in the name of political unrest. Usually they kill the helpless poor. Its happening in all parts of India, from TN to J&K, from Gujrat to WB, recently Assam joined the list.

The methodology is simple. A small time politician wants to get noticed by the media and make his/her presence felt on the political landscape. He/She pick a flimsy reason, a perceived injustice. Take to the streets, break law. Hit street vendors, they are poor, helpless, underfed, can’t fight. Even kill a few. This has turned into a business for politicians and their network, so today we witness private armies breaking law on flimsiest of the reasons or even without reason just for practice.

Its going out of hand:

Actually they are not political activist, they are mercenaries. They don’t have political beliefs, they switch political parties or ideology like they change clothes. So, even their masters who thought they can control them sometimes find themselves as the target. This is sometimes called a split in the party.

Its really going private. Any one who can assemble a bunch of 20 or so to shout slogans knows he can get away with breaking the law. Break into any individual’s house, break his bones etc whatever they choose to break as long as they have a flimsy reason like hurt sentiments.

The law has become anybody’s donkey. Hit it, break it, overload it (file cases against film stars, sports person for wearing less clothes or disrespecting tradition or country). Do anything but don’t make it strong. If they make it strong, it will kick them.

How and why it keeps growing:

Everywhere you will find people who will not do their job, for one or the other reason like bribe or some enmity etc. Also, there are and have always been people in the society who ignore the larger good to pursue their own good. They say, it’s not my job or its does not hurt me. Thanks to both the set of people mentioned above the law breakers have a field day.

Ignore it at your own peril.

Abhinav

08 Feb 2008