It goes without saying that everyone is heaving a sigh of relief that the 36-hr bandh call passed off peacefully without any incident. Police revelation that for the first time in the state’s history, anti-social elements were hired on payment from another state to create a serious law & order problem in the Arunachal capital during the bandh call is a matter of huge concern. Such a trend must be nipped in the bud to ensure that such elements do not create more chaos.
That said, the 36-hr Itanagar Capital Complex bandh was in many ways difficult to comprehend. The way it unfolded is perplexing on many accounts. The All Nyishi Youth Association calls for a 36-hr bandh seeking the resignation of Chief Minister Pema Khandu over graft allegations. That much is clear. The state government, its MLAs, Deputy Commissioner Capital including the CM all go on record appealing to the capital residents to shun bandh culture and go about their normal life to set an example. The business community was also urged to keep their shutters open. Ten thousand security personnel were deployed on the city’s streets. Then arrives the D-day and the administration mystifyingly, prohibits the public from going about their routine life, forcing them to remain locked in their homes.  
By all means the ANYA called the bandh but it was the DA who implemented it thoroughly, so is the public perception, which is not wrong.
It is the common man who gets sandwiched in such situations. Bandhs derail normal life and impact the local economy. While the 36-hr bandh probably was a good break for the salaried class but not everyone gets a paycheck at the end of the month. Daily wage earners, blue-collar workers are the biggest victims of such tussles. There are numerous forms of non-violent methods of protest made famous by Mahatma Gandhi as a source of strength and inspiration which must not be forgotten when one talks about democratic forms of protest.
The state government must also introspect on managing such a situation in a public-friendly way. Suspension of mobile internet and WiFi cannot be an acceptable form of handling a bandh. It doesn’t solve the problem. Apart from forcing people to live in an “information/communication black hole”, such suspension hampers the working of a free press. Newspapers, digital & online media depend on the internet to disseminate information, and in its absence, it gets curtailed.
Today’s world is internet-driven, which has been amplified due to the ongoing pandemic, shutting down of the internet is akin to a ‘bandh’ in itself.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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