Game of Words: View vs Counter View 3.11

Effectiveness of Protests

Varying perspectives collectively blend to curate a bold society. In a democratic country such as India, are protests effective to convey a message accurately and receive acclimation? Or are they just a ruse with no means to an end? Find out in the following debate where Riyanjali and Jade voice out their respective ideologies.  

View: 

India has had a long standing culture of political debate whether it be under the banyan tree or in the courts of Kings; this long standing tradition of public reasoning did indeed play an important role in the drafting of our constitution a sit would be unjust to consider it only comprising of western ideologies.

In this modern day we seem to take our democracy for granted and we neglect the fact that democracy is intimately connected with public discussion. A great way to facilitate the same and express one's views is protest. Our constitution makes the provision for peaceful assembly and I am of the opinion that it would be a shame to waste something that is a necessity.

I would go as far as amending the famous French saying ' Je pense donc je suis ' (I think therefore I am) to 'Je parle donc je suis' (I speak therefore I am) to apply in the context of a democratic country, as the greatest enemy of democracy is none other than silence.

Counter View:

On the other hand if we are prone to protest at the drop of a hat we are in danger of crying wolf and missing out genuine attention in cases of real emergency. A case in point is ‘hartal’ in Kerala which shuts down colleges at the slightest whim. This in turn has made the course timeline unpredictable and affected students' commitments.

 A second case study would be countrywide protests of transport which effectively shuts down most businesses. Businesses are fatally affected by employees' inability to make it to work. Misuse of such freedom can lead to riots and unnecessary tension that is raised in the middle of a so-called democracy. It paints an unjust picture to those that genuinely suffer. The right to protest must be used judiciously to be heard well. 

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete” -Buckminster Fuller.

Written By:

Riyanjali 

Jade