#india protest

A man was beaten on the roads of Delhi yesterday, the roads turned crimson where the beaten man lay, A child had called for his Maa, then cried. In the silence, it echoed, when no one replied.

He had done nothing wrong, or so I'd contend; unless wrong is counting the dead 'til the fingers end, unless wrong is wanting a vote that still counts in "The largest democracy!", at least that's what they shout.

But alas, a man was beaten on the roads of delhi yesterday.

The man had been skinny, wore a white shirt and dirty, old shoes. A student, he wasn't like us, no doubt. He had lied to his parents on his way to the crowd. his lip was split open, a placard had been torn, he had looked at the failures and dared ask for more.

"Oh, another man was beaten on the roads of Delhi today?" he same roads were red again, and a woman had been made to lose her dignity, her life in vain. The man had worn a raksha on his hand, a mark of his faith. He believed all humans were above this fate. He looked, would you believe it, more like you or me, his eyes as haunted as a banyan tree.

So close your doors, and watch TV. Maybe have some chai, as a different man bleeds. For its not you, at least not yet, but take heed, at least in the back of your head.

A man was beaten on the roads of Delhi today, and men will be beaten again, come what may.

History will remember how a satirical movement united the entirety of India.

History will remember the time 'we, the people' became true in front of our eyes.

History will remember the youth with the spine.

History will remember the protestors who proved we are the nation of gandhi.

History will remember the movement that revived the fourth pillar of democracy.

History will remember that the power of people will always be stronger than the people in power.

The whole nation is on fire.

The thing about the CJP protest and the behaviour of the Delhi Police that most people can’t seem to grasp is that we, the privileged, are only one minor injustice and inconvenience away from being lathi-charged like these students were on 20th July.

The only reason we are safe in the comfort of our homes, giving unnecessary advice to these kids and their families sitting in the harsh Delhi heat, is because it’s not our turn yet.

Do you think these kids thought that they would be hit by batons when they saw the Shaheen Bagh ladies sitting on the streets of Delhi during the NRC-CAA protests? Do you think these kids thought that they would be called anti-nationals one day when they saw the Kisaans being called Khalistanis in their own country during the MSP protests? Do you think these kids thought that they would be hit by expired tear gas bombs, pellet guns, and stones when they saw Olympic medallists being dragged through the streets while protesting against their sexual abuser?

No. Never in their wildest dreams did they imagine that something like this could happen to them. Just like we are disillusioned right now, believing that this would never happen to us but it will.

We, too, will be dragged through the streets, hit with stones and pellet guns, tear-gassed, and water-cannoned, just like these kids are and those before them were. All of this to satisfy the ego of a megalomaniac who thinks he is the non-biological reincarnation of God himself.

So, just a PSA to anyone critiquing the protest: do better, then. Go out there and organise a better protest, a more peaceful protest. Show us how it’s done. Don’t sit here and parrot the words of Godi Media. Don’t sell your souls. Don’t bootlick this government. It will kick you down. It will prove you wrong. It truly will.

Also, another thing: dissent can’t be curbed. Revolutions are rarely non-violent. Everything has nuance and layers that you might not be able to grasp because of your privileged and sheltered lives.Watch the latest video posted by Samdish. Listen to the stories of these protesters, their lives, their concerns, and their issues. We can’t even fathom the difficulties they must have faced just to show up at the protest site.

It is their belief in unity, in their countrymen, and in this Constitution that gives them hope that things will be all right; that the system will be fixed, if not for them, then at least for others, who will, in turn, fix things for them as well.