Why civil protests must necessarily disrupt the status quo by Vineet Bhalla October 7, 2021
in terms of narrative building, not only do such statements by the Court seemingly ignore the fact that the road blockades are actually put in place by the police (be it in the context of the Shaheen Bagh protests or the farmers’ protests around Delhi borders), but they also cast civil protestors in a negative light, as obstructors or disruptors occupying public ways; a problem to be cleared by the administration, instead of as citizens with legitimate grievances against the State that are exercising their fundamental right to air those to the State and other citizens.
what makes ordinary citizens organize and participate in civil protests for weeks and months on end, and what is the objective of such protests?
If someone legitimately believes that their way of life is under threat due to a government policy, can they be expected to engage meekly and politely with the State, and abide by the rules of the institutions that have failed them? If the farmers obediently shift their demonstrations to a remote spot allocated by the government, without disrupting the status quo, then they will get no attention, either from the State, the media, or the public. Their demands will likely fade out of the popular narrative. The hard truth is that in order to be successful, civil protests must upend the status quo and inconvenience the public for its problems to be taken seriously.
Therefore, a suggestion to those legitimately inconvenienced by the farmers’ protests, as well as those that will be inconvenienced by other civil protests down the road: The protestors are your co-citizens, fellow members of our national community, who are motivated by the desire to keep their lives from getting worse, not make yours worse. View their actions in good faith.