mid day editorial: Peaceful protest is stronger than violence

Mumbai's Maratha morcha took off yesterday as the city stayed on the edge, with the eastern swathe of the city more affected than other areas. After pre-morcha claims that the protest will be peaceful, violence did take place, throwing life out of gear for some who had stepped out yesterday.

Buses were stoned and stopped plying. Trains were stopped, leaving commuters stranded for a while. The police disrupted various attempts to set fire to tyres and made sure that protesters dispersed. Images of BEST vehicles, smashed and burnt, flooded television screens; a grim portent that the peaceful could take an ugly twist at any time.

All this while, debates simmered about whether a relatively privileged class should be asking and agitating for reservation. Even as images showed stalled traffic on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, discussions and snap polls were asking people to vote whether caste based reservation and quotas have any place today. Mumbaikars feared that this would snowball into a bigger problem, but fortunately the protests were called off by mid-afternoon, The stopping of quotas and reservations may still be a matter for debate, what must stop though is violence accompanying protests.

It is time to call a halt to arson, stone throwing and mob fury. Protesters can put their point across in peaceful and much more productive ways. Violence is highly counterproductive. It takes away from the aim of what the protesters are trying to achieve, turning public opinion against them.

Let us bring down the curtains on these demonstrations of intimidation and aggression. Provocations from politicians about silent morchas being ineffective should be seen as canny opportunism. Peaceful and respectful agitations have more teeth than mindless destruction.

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