Strikes - Keep them coming?

I was watching Rang de Basanti for the 5th time the other day. It was being aired on UTV. The film gives me something new to think about each time I watch it. Even this time, I thought, is India in safe hands? No, I am not campaigning for a political party here. Rather, I am trying to give an overview of what the scenario is before I move to the main topic of discussion. As per news figures, 150 of the newly elected MPs have criminal cases pending against them. Of them, 73 MPs face serious charges. And, lets say, there are quite a few who have been involved in criminal activities, but were never caught. So that enhances the figures even more!

Now, the main topic of discussion: Bengal is having a 12 hour strike yet again! The issue? Political rivalry leading to blood stains. The sufferers? The common men. Time and again, I have hinted that strikes do not solve problems, rather they paralyse the nervous system of the city. But I am nobody. So nobody listens to me. And since nobody listens to me, everybody thinks he or she can call a strike and get away with it. And wait, do you want to know what happened the day before the strike would take place? Have a look at this article. I was watching live video clips of the incidents. The people were smashing the window panes of vehicles with whatever they had in their hands, ultimately setting the vehicles on fire. I was wondering if the 'non-living' buses had any idea what it was all about and what had been their fault! I could derive only one possible benefit. For quite some time now, the government had been trying to take aged buses (more than 15 years old) off the road, but the drive has been facing serious protests from the bus syndicate owners as well as various groups. Today, the number of such vehicles got reduced - thanks to their mass cremation! But apart from this 'derived' benefit, I could really not see any other gains. As is expected, one ambulance was staggered in the traffic jam created because of this on the Howrah bridge. The patient had a tough time and the relatives were anxious (to say the least).

There will be eternal debates on the fact that strike is an weapon of non-violence used to educate the mass and gain support and also as a tool to create pressure. But one is compelled to think, what is it that we are gaining out of it? If you ask me, I gained just one thing. Guess what!

THIS BLOG POST! What else!

Cheers to strikes! Keep them coming! *sarcastic eh!*