DNA Edit: Bandh will achieve little

By the time you read this, dear reader, the general strike, called by the country’s 11 top trade unions cutting across party lines, may well be under way. The Bharat Bandh, today and tomorrow, has been called against disinvestment in PSUs, FDI in various sectors, including retail, poor implementation of labour laws, and price rise.

Some of the issues are, no doubt, genuine, especially price rise that hurts the middle-class and poor families badly. But it is also time for us to ask whether calling a bandh is the way to register our collective protest. By a conservative estimate, Rs20,000cr will be lost when the country shuts down all economic activities. It also results in unnecessary violence; the all-India bandh in May last year saw buses and private vehicles burnt at several places.

Moreover, board exams are under way or due to commence in many states. In Maharashtra, the HSC exams begin on February 21. A bandh will inconvenience the students terribly, and unions need to show some consideration here. If anything, poor students will suffer more.

Unions have a right to protest, but general strikes achieve little. The fact is that none of the policies they are protesting against, such as privatisation or FDI, will be changed. So what purpose will the bandh serve?

Meanwhile, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has threatened to act against shopkeepers who don’t open their shops. This is the other extreme. Rather than threatening shopkeepers, she should ensure a fool-proof security, so that the shops may be opened. It seems she finds it easier to target petty traders rather than the powerful unions.