Comments on: In Praise of Bandhs http://greatbong.net/2006/12/21/in-praise-of-bandhs/ Fri, 12 Mar 2010 04:24:21 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: JK http://greatbong.net/2006/12/21/in-praise-of-bandhs/#comment-753229 JK Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:41:05 +0000 http://greatbong.net/2006/12/21/in-praise-of-bandhs/#comment-753229 Classic GB :D !Just came back to the archives for some nostalgia.... Classic GB :D !Just came back to the archives for some nostalgia….

]]> By: Anonymous http://greatbong.net/2006/12/21/in-praise-of-bandhs/#comment-271669 Anonymous Sun, 01 Jul 2007 02:04:39 +0000 http://greatbong.net/2006/12/21/in-praise-of-bandhs/#comment-271669 Bandhs helped destroy the economy of Calcutta and take it from being one of the leading lights of India to a ridiculed festering mess... thank god those days are fading and out great city has started to rise above the rubble of the past Bandhs helped destroy the economy of Calcutta and take it from being one of the leading lights of India to a ridiculed festering mess… thank god those days are fading and out great city has started to rise above the rubble of the past

]]> By: Nandix http://greatbong.net/2006/12/21/in-praise-of-bandhs/#comment-251964 Nandix Fri, 15 Jun 2007 20:36:46 +0000 http://greatbong.net/2006/12/21/in-praise-of-bandhs/#comment-251964 Too good.... was left in splits on reading the part about Jadavpur.... I still remember the first strike... all because the library fine had been raised from 30 to 50 paise, a heinous crime inflicted on the studious student community. We, the first years in our eagerness to gain knowledge were fiddling in the machine lab of electrical department.... when suddenly the union room evangelists rushed in and started threatening us with dire consequences for non compliance to the mighty cause. It was a rude shock... and I was devastated. Forward 4 years to 2005: a couple of students of FETSU, (thats the Engg Students union) had been expelled for an agitation back in 2003. The entire department was enjoying the lazy afternoon as the relay hungerstrike went on... an innovative concept where differet people were on hunger strike for about 5-6 hours each, that is till they felt hungry. How I wished I could have seen some more of those strikes and bandhs. I also realised that the VC had one of the most dangerous positions .. he had to face the brunt of the overzealous youth leaders. Its amazing the way I was transformed at JU... and how my philosophies in life gradually changed... a wonderful place, those four years will be forever etched in my memory as the best years of my life.... satyameba jayte... bandh hey mataram Too good…. was left in splits on reading the part about Jadavpur…. I still remember the first strike… all because the library fine had been raised from 30 to 50 paise, a heinous crime inflicted on the studious student community.
We, the first years in our eagerness to gain knowledge were fiddling in the machine lab of electrical department…. when suddenly the union room evangelists rushed in and started threatening us with dire consequences for non compliance to the mighty cause.
It was a rude shock… and I was devastated.
Forward 4 years to 2005: a couple of students of FETSU, (thats the Engg Students union) had been expelled for an agitation back in 2003. The entire department was enjoying the lazy afternoon as the relay hungerstrike went on… an innovative concept where differet people were on hunger strike for about 5-6 hours each, that is till they felt hungry. How I wished I could have seen some more of those strikes and bandhs.
I also realised that the VC had one of the most dangerous positions .. he had to face the brunt of the overzealous youth leaders.
Its amazing the way I was transformed at JU… and how my philosophies in life gradually changed… a wonderful place, those four years will be forever etched in my memory as the best years of my life…. satyameba jayte… bandh hey mataram

]]> By: S. Pyne http://greatbong.net/2006/12/21/in-praise-of-bandhs/#comment-83603 S. Pyne Sun, 31 Dec 2006 15:48:12 +0000 http://greatbong.net/2006/12/21/in-praise-of-bandhs/#comment-83603 Sorry to stretch here: when I wrote that "(s)tudent agitation should be strongly discouraged since (it) is clearly self-destructive", I may be suggesting a bourgeois solution but a very efficient one in the long run. A student, by defintion, must reserve her time and energies to her studies. No compromises here (because she can choose to agitate later in her life, but cannot to study) unless, like the Communists, one seeks to diabolically corrupt impresionable youth thus to gather a blindly faithful following. Therefore GB's "no problem with student ‘agitations’" makes me uneasy. Appreciating and brainstorming broad social/scientific issues like AIDS or global warming or education while being strongly prepared for individual careers with BA or BTech or BCom in a well-rounded manner of education (eg. field trips, environmental projects, market surveys) can produce in near future conscientious CEOs, efficient clerks, kind policemen and, hopefully, fewer unscrupulous strikes and (professional) agitators. In this regard, see Gurcharan Das' 16Dec TOI OpEd 'Private virtue.' Sorry to stretch here: when I wrote that “(s)tudent agitation should be strongly discouraged since (it) is clearly self-destructive”, I may be suggesting a bourgeois solution but a very efficient one in the long run. A student, by defintion, must reserve her time and energies to her studies. No compromises here (because she can choose to agitate later in her life, but cannot to study) unless, like the Communists, one seeks to diabolically corrupt impresionable youth thus to gather a blindly faithful following. Therefore GB’s “no problem with student ‘agitations’” makes me uneasy.

Appreciating and brainstorming broad social/scientific issues like AIDS or global warming or education while being strongly prepared for individual careers with BA or BTech or BCom in a well-rounded manner of education (eg. field trips, environmental projects, market surveys) can produce in near future conscientious CEOs, efficient clerks, kind policemen and, hopefully, fewer unscrupulous strikes and (professional) agitators.

In this regard, see Gurcharan Das’ 16Dec TOI OpEd ‘Private virtue.’

]]> By: S. Pyne http://greatbong.net/2006/12/21/in-praise-of-bandhs/#comment-83572 S. Pyne Sun, 31 Dec 2006 14:40:55 +0000 http://greatbong.net/2006/12/21/in-praise-of-bandhs/#comment-83572 Btw, wonderful puns. In my Dec. trip spanning 5 states (WB-Or-TN-Ke-Ka-WB), got to see 1st-hand the publicity (mainly -ve, outside WB) that Didi's fast got. A serious re-think for new means of public protest is called for. Minimally invasive to normal civil life, yet purposive and articulate, styles can be effective in drawing attention of a thankful and intelligent (assumptions not made by netas/netris) public. For example, why don't the protestors pool money to place an ad in an impartial newspaper/website? The logic and the ethic behind the protest can & should be clearly outlined. Electronic media can be utilized (eg. SMS signatures) but again the means must not be disruptive (eg. DoS attack). Student agitation should be strongly discouraged since the potential of student-hood, realized through composure, concentration and perseverence, is antithetical to agitation and is clearly self-destructive. The students may instead be encouraged to develop cerebral muscles (dialectics, writing critiques, using statistics and research references) as well as intellectual clarity and honesty to understand and tackle serious issues (eg. AIDS, global warming, education) and be prepared (in a well-rounded manner that never happens in Indian colleges, including the IITs) to offer future leadership if they really care. Btw, wonderful puns.

In my Dec. trip spanning 5 states (WB-Or-TN-Ke-Ka-WB), got to see 1st-hand the publicity (mainly -ve, outside WB) that Didi’s fast got. A serious re-think for new means of public protest is called for. Minimally invasive to normal civil life, yet purposive and articulate, styles can be effective in drawing attention of a thankful and intelligent (assumptions not made by netas/netris) public. For example, why don’t the protestors pool money to place an ad in an impartial newspaper/website? The logic and the ethic behind the protest can & should be clearly outlined. Electronic media can be utilized (eg. SMS signatures) but again the means must not be disruptive (eg. DoS attack).
Student agitation should be strongly discouraged since the potential of student-hood, realized through composure, concentration and perseverence, is antithetical to agitation and is clearly self-destructive. The students may instead be encouraged to develop cerebral muscles (dialectics, writing critiques, using statistics and research references) as well as intellectual clarity and honesty to understand and tackle serious issues (eg. AIDS, global warming, education) and be prepared (in a well-rounded manner that never happens in Indian colleges, including the IITs) to offer future leadership if they really care.

]]> By: S. Pyne http://greatbong.net/2006/12/21/in-praise-of-bandhs/#comment-83497 S. Pyne Sun, 31 Dec 2006 13:50:15 +0000 http://greatbong.net/2006/12/21/in-praise-of-bandhs/#comment-83497 Just reminiscing about student strikes in my old college (Presidency, early '90s): "no class" by students on Thursday to protest against loss of studies thanks to an earlier "no class" due to non-teaching staff on Monday... pure gem!! Just reminiscing about student strikes in my old college (Presidency, early ’90s): “no class” by students on Thursday to protest against loss of studies thanks to an earlier “no class” due to non-teaching staff on Monday… pure gem!!

]]> By: Debu http://greatbong.net/2006/12/21/in-praise-of-bandhs/#comment-79566 Debu Thu, 28 Dec 2006 16:17:10 +0000 http://greatbong.net/2006/12/21/in-praise-of-bandhs/#comment-79566 Great Bong, Great write-up and great memories. However one abiding memory I have of the Bangla bandh was when this chap was gunned down by indiscriminate police firing near Gariahat more. It was shown on live television, and the way the guy just staggered and fell....it was my first experience seeing people being killed this way. And the height was when he died, there was a clammer to claim the guy to be their own from the two political parties to gain political mileage Great Bong,
Great write-up and great memories. However one abiding memory I have of the Bangla bandh was when this chap was gunned down by indiscriminate police firing near Gariahat more. It was shown on live television, and the way the guy just staggered and fell….it was my first experience seeing people being killed this way. And the height was when he died, there was a clammer to claim the guy to be their own from the two political parties to gain political mileage

]]> By: mayankchauhan http://greatbong.net/2006/12/21/in-praise-of-bandhs/#comment-78036 mayankchauhan Wed, 27 Dec 2006 12:53:40 +0000 http://greatbong.net/2006/12/21/in-praise-of-bandhs/#comment-78036 awesome writeup....ya these bandh's bring me some warm childhood memories awesome writeup….ya these bandh’s bring me some warm childhood memories

]]> By: Anonymous http://greatbong.net/2006/12/21/in-praise-of-bandhs/#comment-78028 Anonymous Wed, 27 Dec 2006 12:26:17 +0000 http://greatbong.net/2006/12/21/in-praise-of-bandhs/#comment-78028 I understand in today's world the right to strike or 'bandh' has been ridiculed (by the likes of Mamata)....but please refrain from demeaning that right...People over the ages have fought against oppression and the 'bandh' has been a powerful weapon. I really don't how much ur boycotting classes would have meant in terms of materialistic help to Guatemala farmers but I guess I know what wld have made the difference - a small report may be even on the second last page of the morning daily saying that students of a prestigious university like JU codemn such an oppression. What I guess, u fail to realise is the prestige that soceity grants you when you are a student of such universities.... I remember, during the war on Iraq, we were students in Delhi, we came out and protested...u may say what happened... the war took place...I, who had screamed anti-imperialist slogans, now work for a US based company ....but still I think I made a difference....Everyone of us might not be able to stand up always for all the ideals that we beleive in .....but that doesn't mean that I don't have them at all....whenever I see an oppurtunity I will choose to be a part of the movement....I will, at laest, try to give back to soceity ..what it gave me ..... Guess it might seem all harebrained idealism to you ...but leave some people with power to imagine....... I understand in today’s world the right to strike or ‘bandh’ has been ridiculed (by the likes of Mamata)….but please refrain from demeaning that right…People over the ages have fought against oppression and the ‘bandh’ has been a powerful weapon.

I really don’t how much ur boycotting classes would have meant in terms of materialistic help to Guatemala farmers but I guess I know what wld have made the difference – a small report may be even on the second last page of the morning daily saying that students of a prestigious university like JU codemn such an oppression. What I guess, u fail to realise is the prestige that soceity grants you when you are a student of such universities….

I remember, during the war on Iraq, we were students in Delhi, we came out and protested…u may say what happened… the war took place…I, who had screamed anti-imperialist slogans, now work for a US based company ….but still I think I made a difference….Everyone of us might not be able to stand up always for all the ideals that we beleive in …..but that doesn’t mean that I don’t have them at all….whenever I see an oppurtunity I will choose to be a part of the movement….I will, at laest, try to give back to soceity ..what it gave me …..

Guess it might seem all harebrained idealism to you …but leave some people with power to imagine…….

]]> By: Kaustubh Kaluskar http://greatbong.net/2006/12/21/in-praise-of-bandhs/#comment-76753 Kaustubh Kaluskar Tue, 26 Dec 2006 03:51:51 +0000 http://greatbong.net/2006/12/21/in-praise-of-bandhs/#comment-76753 I wish i was in JU.Good post.When these parties call for bandh why do they leave journalist out of it.They are also part of working class and there product is bought by people. I wish i was in JU.Good post.When these parties call for bandh why do they leave journalist out of it.They are also part of working class and there product is bought by people.

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