Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Back to Peaceful Protests Gandhi style :)

Thanks to Philip I was watching the Peaceful Protestors at Gateway of India, one week after the Terror Attacks, India is telling her divisive, hate breeding politicians that Divided we fell, United we stand again!

I am happy today and oh so hopeful. I am confident that we will see change. A man is dressed as Gandhi in a street play, and everybody is talking about peaceful protests. Posters, Cartoons, Placards, Tricolour, some grim determination, some anger, some demanding action, some agitated, some saying, 'Nation of Lions Lead by Donkeys' but all are talking about Peace and Harmony.

Finally we believe in peace again!!!

You can see Hindus and Muslims, Parsis and Sikhs, North Indians and South Indians, Marathi Manoos and Biharis - all together they stand as ONE INDIA :)
This day is a day of new beginnings, and this could ONLY HAPPEN IN INDIA :)

Demands for much needed Electoral reforms, including and the Right to vote for NONE OF THE ABOVE .

Isn't this India's answer to the terrorists?

This could be the birth of PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY?

I am watching angry women protesting against Naqvi's comments on their lipsticks and powder, they also want Deshmukh to resign, and they want to stop paying for the politicians' security. They want all the security to be given to the NSG Commandos :)
I agree, let them make India as safe for themselves as they have made for the rest of the Indians.

Questions to Sonia Gandhi, "Has Madam forgotten how she lost her husband to terrorists?"
Somebody's saying 'Dogs are allowed, but Achutanandan is not'. (This guy should be kicked out of politics for good).

There's flag that says, 'Yes we can!'

And yet we are not naive, a Peaceful Protestor reminds us, 'Don't ever forget'.

If there is a little fear that we might forget again, I decide, the rest of us will remind them again. Oh yes we can :)

23 comments:

OG said...

"Finally we believe in peace again!!!".....

We definitely do, but do others??

A couple of my friends also joined this rally and it was great to watch!
I do hope that we see the dawn of a "New India" now, one that would shine like a beacon in darkness...

Indian Home Maker said...

Hi Ajit :) I know nothing can happen in one day, but I do believe we will see change.
People are talking about NOT voting for any of the older lot, which, if we also get our right to vote for None Of The Above, will become much easier.
Yes there are worries,India should remember Gandhi's values. We have learnt how much we could loose, I am glad we are together today ... (at least)and I am very optimistic for the future.

Indian Home Maker said...

And I am going to do your tag at the earliest! Past few days have been very busy :(

Usha Pisharody said...

Yesssss!!

To that wonderful feeling of onness that I think only India can be capable of, now that her masses have stirred.

It feels like a contemporary re cast of how it must have been, more than 60-70 years ago, the mass movements. I do hope that it will spread through many more cities and town, and even villages. Let us hope. Let us not forget, ever, and let us keep that torch burning, in our quest for that

None of the Above!!

Indian Home Maker said...

@Usha Pisharody - You know if we believe we can we will. I don't think the terrorists or the politicians could have ever imagined this would lead to this!!! Our Quest for peace and harmony and just an ordinary happy life has brought us here, I think we will do better now. Much better :)

Jira said...

You know IHM...I feel so happy after reading this post! This is what we need to do...Shows that people are at least awake..At least they care..

Anonymous said...

Finally we are re-learning what we knew at the times of independence, our country is strong - only when we are secular and united in the true sense of the word

OG said...

@IHM,

Please watch the Pakistan media claiming that the mumbai terror attacks were done by "hindu" terrorists to spark tensions with them:
http://www.hotklix.com/?ref=content/152704

Z@ki-R said...

Well, as I said in an earlier posts, if our leaders learn a lesson, all these protests maker sense. i m sick of blame games, same warnings for neighbouring country yet nothing happens. it's time for some actions. i m worried, following mumbai attack, we should not forget of another failed nation, bangladesh. most infiltrators are harmless daily wage earners but there are quite few anti indians amongs them who can run havoc at any moment. do you know, paying 2000 to BSF, you can get a ration card here. the govt/or opp here won't do anything if u promise your vote for the ruling party/or opp respectively.

Mampi said...

Yes, yes, yes.
I have not seen that protest but Your words were enough for me to visualise the scene.
yes we can. We can and will make a difference.

Unknown said...

that is great that there is a wave forming ...i am at a place where i cannot follow news regularly..but it was heartening to see that a new feeling is coming..i hope that change is near..this time atleast..

Anonymous said...

i am the armyguy btw !... posted with the wrong account..!

Arun.N.M. said...

I sincerely applaud the good will of all those participated in this movement.Good to see people who probably never had joined a political rally or raised slogans coming and joining a political movement like this.[Yes a movement for change can only be a political movement and its leaders politicians,how ever you may hate that term]. I welcome that and hope it will address not only the issue of terrorism[which it seems is the major rallying point for those who participated] but also the problems of poverty, unemployment,price rise, unaffordable health care, lack of affordable quality education, victimisation of minorities and Dalits, Reservation, Naxalism etc all of which may not affect them.

Unknown said...

But gandhi also broke the salt laws of the british.

Gandhi did what was necessary with respect to the Client at hand.

We did not win our fight against the british only because of gandhi but of many many others too

Bose who made his own army
Tilak who organised community meetings under the pretext of ganpati meetings
bhagat singh who did not hesitate to avenge the jalianwala bagh
etc etc


many different tactics were used

boycotting of british goods to bring out down their trade ( birla's did an awesome job of fooling the british here )

and so many indians who worked for the british soldiers also quit working for them
( only if the local pakistani allies stop cooperating - we will win this for sure)

our freedom fight was fought because of the numbers - the whole nation stood against - here it is different -

the british beat our people with a lathi and we were scared. now the lathi is replaced with RDX bombs and ammunition and ( 100 times more )..

YES we CAN put an end to terrorism and bomb blasts in our towns and cities - YES WE can , but use whatever tact and strategy is required to root this out.

Indian Home Maker said...

Jira Yes jira, it's like a real awakening. Like Usha above says, this is how it must have felt in pre-independence India :)


Ritu I am so, sooo glad we re-learned this. The divisions and hatred was so frightening. Now we'll all make sure the wave continues all over he country.


Ajit I saw, and it frightened me, because I couldn't say with total confidence that this was impossible. I really hope they are absolutely wrong ...

Z@ki-R All this will take time to go, or perhaps it will go now once for all, when people are still angry, not just with the politicians, but even with themselves. I am very PROUD of all those people out there.


Mampi I feel whatever we wish , truly wish for, we make come true. Dream and the dream will be fulfilled. It's happening.


Samby/Siddharth It is. Join in :)
Each one of us make sure the wave does not slow down or stop. We have no choice, really, either face terrorists and corrupt politicians or 'be the change we want to see' .... I hope you are a registered voter?


Charakan Yes and we need CLEA POLITICS, because we do need governance, good governance so that people, alert as they are, can go back to their schools, colleges, jobs interviews, busy schedules, cricket matches. Yes I agree, hence my next post ...
I think we just needed a trigger for this change, past any months have been really bad, shameful here ... now it's up to each one of us to make sure the movement does not stop.


Anrosh Yes you are right. In today's India sometimes (it will be tried again) some elements try to incite the youth to hate for religion/region/etc, for votes, I just feel if through all their hatred, if they at least stick to non-violence, India will do fine. The trouble is many of these leaders(?) misguide the youth and incite them to violence in the name of fighting for justice, this feeling of 'victim-hood' is cultivated to nurture their vote banks .... I hope those who are still blinded by hate find forgiveness and love in their hearts now.

Anonymous said...

Raj and his uncle Balls Thuggeray have finished making the vada pavs. They are waiting for the issue to die off so that they can start off their divisive politics.

Indian Home Maker said...

philip Not without our support, if we refuse to support them they won't but - I can so picture them telling the poor this is the war of the rich (and they themselves are oh so poor!)...

Anonymous said...

IHM, fingers crossed!

Quirky Indian
http://quirkyindian.wordpress.com

hitch writer said...

As citizens now its important for us to keep this vigil alive... we are organising a similar peace protest in Bharuch on Friday. We all must keep this alive and put pressure on our government to act... The anger in our hearts has to be channelised and the be maintanied till the government acts....

Priyanka said...

Good to read this post. Finally, people have decided to not ignore yet another attack on B'bay. They are not taking it sitting down this time.
I wonder why are the rules for allowing people with criminal records into politics not changed yet?

1conoclast said...

:-)

J P Joshi said...

Yes, the spontaneous protests in Mumbai and Delhi mostly by people of the younger generation gives one a lot of hope that the younger generation is now ready to constructively engage in nation building. No drastic change is possible without the youth participating. These are good signs.

Unknown said...

Actually Gandhiji himself, were he to be alive today would have evolved his methods without comnpromising his core philosophy as he did all his life. But we have frozen him in 1948 and try to use his methods without interpreting them for today's age and hence they often appear obscure and quaint.