Agnipath Protests | Government must stop rioters, vandals from derailing India’s progress

Mob sets a train on fire on Wednesday in protest against the Agnipath defence recruitment scheme.

To think that the history of protests and agitations in India have always been peaceful will be a mistake. Thanks to Mahatma Gandhi, India has come to be known as the land of ‘non-violent’ Satyagraha. But ironically, both during his lifetime and later, protests have often taken a violent turn leading to loss of lives and property. Arson, vandalism, stone pelting with occasional use of hand-grenades (Molotov Cocktails), and guns has for long been the part of ‘standard operating procedure’ (SOP) of protestors. However, what one sees now is organised violence where protests have become a virtual industry.

The Narendra Modi-led government was justly proud that since its coming to power there were no major communal riots in India. But, in recent months its near blemish-less track record came precariously close to being tested at the seams. Starting with the Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh protests in 2019, which turned violent, the near year-and-a-half long farmer’s agitation of 2020-21 to the recent clashes between two communities during Hanuman Jayanti and Ram Navami celebrations in some states, it appears that India has been put on notice by hostile interests.

This impression was reinforced by the outbreak of riot-like incidents in several states following a controversy around the remarks of a BJP spokesperson during a television debate that was considered blasphemous by certain Islamist groups. There were flare ups in a few towns of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and West Bengal, among other states.

However, the real shocker was the violence unleashed in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Telangana instantly after the announcement of a short-service ‘Tour of Duty’ scheme — christened Agnipath — for the armed forces. Allegedly spearheaded by potential army recruits, the mobs went on rampage destroying public property, torching trains, and indulging in random violence. Even on the third day there are no signs of the agitation abating despite several assurances from the Ministry of Defence, and are, in fact, spreading to other states.

A common thread of these protests of the last two years has been the overt support of opposition political parties, sometimes with an open call for regime change, and suspicions of external elements inimical to India’s national interests. The speed at which these flash protests are being triggered gives the impression that an ecosystem has come up with the capability to stir up action at short notice. These are ominous portends indeed.

Many are intrigued by the apparent ‘soft’ handling of these successive events by the Union government. The Opposition claim the government has a lot to be defensive about as many of the issues are of their own creation, results of faulty policy-making, and inept governance. This view has been actively amplified with added allegations of religious intolerance, curbing of press freedom, and human rights violation to bring international pressure upon the government. In tandem, issues about the federal structure have been reopened challenging the limits of the Centre’s authority on subjects that come under the state list — most important among them being law and order. Frequently, intervention of the higher judiciary is invoked to restrain the Union government’s actions.

Caught in a bind, one approach of the Union government seems to have been acting through the state governments in BJP-ruled states trying to set an example. But not surprisingly, the muscular approach of BJP Chief Ministers such as Yogi Adityanath has come in for sharp criticism from the opponents of the Modi dispensation. Another disturbing development in case of the Agnipath protests has been BJP’s own ally in Bihar, the Janata Dal (United) has thrown its weight behind the agitators, and seems to be going easy on the miscreants.

The question staring at the nation is whether caught in this gamesmanship of political parties, can we afford to jeopardise the well-being of our people and allow mindless destruction of national assets — both physical and social. While the first is easily quantifiable, the latter is intangible, and comes in the form of not just communal and class tensions, but also at the cost of the future generations.

The BJP-led NDA government has less than two years of its mandate left. With the worst of COVID-19 hopefully behind us, the government has its task cut out for it. It cannot afford to let the national agenda derail, nor allow disruptive forces to plunge the country into anarchy. It must perform a quadrangular balancing act between tough reforms, strict maintaining of law and order, and external security without compromising democratic and pluralistic credentials of India.

No doubt it is a complex and tough ask. But having come with a resounding majority, India and the world does not expect anything less from a visionary leader like Modi.