Across India, students are out protesting. Even in a city like Mumbai that has traditionally been lukewarm towards most politics at the national level, there have been protest turnouts that have been significant. And, more importantly, it isn’t the elite South Mumbai and South Delhi crowd waving placards and banners, but a swathe of people across socio-economic groups, communities, and even causes protesting against the policies of the government. In some states where they are present, student unions have helped students organise. In states such as Maharashtra, where the presence of student unions and elections is absent, students and protestors have self-organised – using tools like Whatsapp and Facebook.

There have been counter gatherings in favour of the government. The RSS affiliated students’ union Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has been holding pro-CAA-NRC marches across various cities. A number of supporters of the government and the CAA have tried organising. But they haven’t been particularly successful.

But away from the camera lens, and away from the metros of Delhi and Mumbai that are in the public glare, the protests have been met with brutal force. The stories that are coming out of Uttar Pradesh and the excesses of Adiyanath’s police force against unarmed protestors have been horrific. This is not about apprehending or arresting people for breaking the law, it is about bullets that are meant to hit the mark, and about truncheons aimed at breaking bones. It seems that the violence has the sanction of the state. While it is likely that ultimately, the constable on the beat will carry the can and lose his job – but the fact is that this level of police violence cannot take place without the approval of the government.

Law and order is being trampled

And, then came the attacks on Jawaharlal Nehru National University (JNU), where police stood outside the gates of JNU, while a mob armed with hockey sticks and iron rods went on a rampage attacking students and teachers for hours. Government action, like the police in old Hindi films – materialised after the violence was over. There were videos of the police escorting those who caused the violence outside the gates of the university. There are allegations from both the Right and the Left that those terrorising the students and faculty at JNU were from the other camp. But, irrespective of which camp they belong to, the fact remains that the Home Ministry was a mute observer when law and order was being trampled by those who had sworn to uphold it.

While the protests began as a reaction to the Citizen Amendment Act, it has now transformed into something far bigger than that. In a country where the opposition is trying to figure out which dynast needs to occupy which position, and where the ruling party is busy ramming through legislation that will have dire consequences on our Republic, the people have taken on the role of the Opposition. The protests are now an umbrella for a variety of causes – chief among them being the belief that Constitutional rights of many communities – religious, tribal, caste, gender – are being systematically eroded by a government that doesn’t want to listen.

While it is clear that the government with superior forces, and the willingness to use them, will wait this out and appear victorious – the victory will be pyrrhic. With more and more people who supported the government speaking up against its intransigence, it looks like PM Narendra Modi’s Teflon coating will be damaged.

Harini Calamur writes on politics, gender and her areas of interest are the intersection of technology, media, and audiences.

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First Published:Jan 9, 2020 6:00 AM IST