The August 20th hartal, the 82nd in 2008, went a step further than all the previous hartals. Needless to say, the usual occurrences were there. To mention some
• A child suffering from cancer died without medical help as he could not reach the hospital
• A bank was invaded by CITU led by no less a person than the panchayat president himself. Of course, destruction of property and assault of employees followed. Three employees including the manager were beaten up, with all sustaining injuries. And it goes without saying, the policecomplaint filed by the bank dared not identify the miscreants.
• And of course, the Police looked on (they don’t even look the other way any more) while this attack on the building and the employees was going on.
• In Trivandrum city, the commodity most conspicuous by its absence on the streets was the police.
But then these are all very very normal things on a hartal day, and we should be taking them in our stride. By this time, we Keralites ought to have learnt how to deal with hartals.The bank got what it deserved. Didn’t the manager know there was a hartal? He ought to have gone, the day before, to the super market to frantically stock things for the day of the hartal and queued up before the liqour shop, and then sat at home on the day of the bandh , watching cricket and Olympics instead of daring to respond to the call of duty. The boy who died should have chosen another day to die. Didn’t he know that the left trade union had called for a national bandh?
If someone got hurt, they themselves were to be blamed. After all, it’s only on a bandh day that the indolent trade union guys get to do something and expend their overstocked energy. Our part is to keep out of their way, duty or no duty.
But this time, like I said before, the strikers made an improvement on the usual meal. The CITU stormed into the hitherto protected areas- the IT sector and the SEZs. The CI of Police, Kazhakootam issued a written warning to the Technopark officials the day before. “Shutters down please”, it said. “We wont be around if something untoward happens”!! Kinfra was invaded by the striking trade unions. The result? Crores of rupees loss to the protected companies.
Kerala was just beginning to find the answer to the mammoth unemployment problem that had been beleaguering the state for decades. The huge number of students coming out of the engineering and management schools were being absorbed by these IT companies.
This 82nd hartal, I guess, spells the doom of IT industry in Kerala. And the present government is trying to woo foreign investors, and set up a Silicon Valley in Kerala!! What a joke!!
The foreign investors who are already here, should get the hell out of this state. There are places in India other than this strip of land where IT parks can be set up and run without any hassles.
Let Kerala go to the devil its own way.
What can one say?
ReplyDeleteKerala seems to take one step forward and 3 huge steps backwards into quicksand.
that mother's tears who suffered in Trivandrum under the noses of these B**** politicians is a testimonial to the feelings of the common people.
I hate to tell 'Kerala wont escape' but deep inside my heart I know very well this is the truth.
why arent any of the CITU/SFI/Congress chappies reading this blog and spewing vitriol? ah,wait i forgot..they know not to read!you need to go to school/college to actually read!
ReplyDeletemostly,we get the govts we deserve!
there is only losses due to hatals no buses,no school,no colleges(I think due to his reason parents are sent there childrens to other states.people only suffer!
ReplyDeleteSuch kind of strikes don't make any sense except for the employees getting a paid leave and the children getting a day to hit a few shots on ther path to become the next gambhir. As you said, this one was a bit different coz they attacked IT firms and other companies working in sez's. Bt for ppl who don't care about a dying child or a sorrowing mom from reachin her dead child on time, why will they care about such workers who defy basic definition of being a workmen as per these guys
ReplyDeleteYou said it. When I reached Vatkara Rly. station in the early morning on that day (It was quite unavoidable, as I was rushing to my native from Ernakulam since I came to know about my friend's mother's death.)it was all deserted. I walked to the highway and from there I was offered a lift by an auto driver, a good sanaritan indeed, he refused to take any money except 10 rupess. Of course he was going to his home but still...and that made me cover a considerable distance of some 12 kms...but still there was a good distance to cover and I'd a really huge back pack. But I didn't bother to waste anytime and after some time gotta fellow 'traveller' who had to travel more than I'd to. After some time we got another auto and somehow I reached home without much hassles. But I'm sure that I managed to reach home just because it was early morning, otherwise I would've to bear the brunt of the 'hartal monster'...
ReplyDelete