It is 20 years since the Tiananmen Square massacre in China killed an estimated 2,600 democracy activists. Freedom lovers talk of Bangalore's most repressive moments
It is 20 years since the Tiananmen Square massacre in China killed an estimated 2,600 democracy activists. Freedom loversu00a0 talk of Bangalore's most repressive moments
Bangalore's democracy activists were threatened and tortured in jails during the Emergency (1975-77), but there was no open massacre like in China on June 4.
MiD DAY asked prominent Bangaloreans what they think was this city's most repressive moment.
Kavitha Lankesh, filmmaker, says, "Bangalore, as a city, is doing the retreat march. Young girls now can't do things I did 20 years ago, without fear of being molested or attacked by goons. I remember going home at 1 am after working in the studio or going to a restaurant very late in the night to grab a bite. How many of us would do this without a second thought today? Bangalore's worst moment isn't a single moment, but a gradual worsening over the years. Those who don't speak the local language are being beaten up. That's not the way to inculcate love for the language."
Aditi De, writer who also describes herself as "a traveller and a dreamer", says, "I've led an independent life in Bangalore and Chennai so far but the recent attacks on women in Bangalore was shocking. I had thought of Bangalore as a relatively safe city for single women."
Gauri Lankesh, editor of Lankesh Patrike, says, "The recent police order, that anyone who wants to hold a protest in the city needs to take prior permission from the police a week ahead, is a real threat to people's freedom of expression. The ridiculous order seeks to know the background of the protesters and, to top it all, it gives the police officers discretionary powers to grant or deny permission! The talk about earmarking an area for protests is like converting a protest into a showcase event! The government has become anti-people. The rulers don't want to see the common man's concerns."
Nagari Babaiah, human rights activist, says, "There are two Bangalores today. This was called a cosmopolitan city. It still remains so, but now it consists of many kinds of people - IT people, BT people, moneyed people. What about immigrant labour in slums, who contribute to the building of Bangalore? Those in the slum near Tavarekere on Magadi Road have recently lost their homes. They are treated like garbage and dumped in a corporation plot full of snakes and scorpions on the outskirts. They have no resources. They can't go to work because the city is too far... What about this Bangalore? People like Ashok Kheny reportedly used retired policemen, with links with in-service cops, to get slum dwellers near Hosakerehalli to give up their land. Their ration cards were snatched away and burnt! These are things that worry me. The city is being developed, not the people. People are being destroyed in the name of development."
H S Doreswamy, freedom fighter, says, "Bangalore faced its first repression in 1928, when we faced the wrath of religious intolerance. Hindu-Muslim riots led to many deaths and unrest for a long time in the city. Another such event would be the Cauvery water dispute. The first Cauvery agreement was signed in 1924 during British rule. The agreement favoured the Madras Government. When the issue was brought up again, there were many Tamils who had to flee the city fearing attacks, which is very sad. This issue remains unresolved."
Tankman: Frontline, the American radio station and web magazine, has released this stunning footage of what happened in China, early June 1989.
A day after the soldiers had mowed down thousands of students, a lone man, holding shopping bags, stood his ground as a column of tanks approached him. He refused to make way, and obstructed its path when it tried to dodge him. The frustrated soldiers in the tanks then turned off their engines. The incident is seen as representing an individual's power against the state. picu00a0 courtesy Frontline/www.pbs.org
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