Protest rallies are necessary to get justice

Protest rallies are necessary to get justice

Introduction:
Mass protests all over the nation stirs revolutionary movements and halts the activities of the government if it gets to a strike, which in turn gets the attention of the media and the law insurers are bound to take an action against an issue to which they would otherwise turn a deaf ear. Whether it is the “Delhi rape case” or the recent “Jadavpur University case,” mass protests have always had its consequences – though the public had always paid a price for it.

Advantages of protests rallies:

1. Right to justice: When justice is delayed or sometimes simply denied, it is the right of the citizen to fight for it. If protests can bring about change in the governance of the country, it is the very right of its citizens to ask for it. Angered mob has the right to get an answer from the law makers and the law insurers and that is absolutely necessary for a democratic nation. A democracy cannot really survive without protests – we are given the rights to be heard and answered and a denial of the rights is something we must stand against.

2.Bringing to attention: Protest rallies draw attention of the public as well as the media, who in turn spread the news to the entire nation. It is not that the “Delhi rape case” was the first of its kind; thousands of such cases are withering in the files of courts and nothing was actually done to ensure justice for them. The huge protests from people of Delhi, which rightly triggered the anger of the entire nation, drove the government to take action against the culprits of the case and also led to the formation of better laws.

3.Non tolerance to crimes: It is an awakening nation that shows no tolerance to hideous crimes such as rape and murder. Protesting seems to be the only way in India to show that it is high time when the nation wants to get rid of such filthy crimes and move towards making India a better nation.

4.United we stand: Most of the time, these protest rallies demonstrate the unity amongst people of different caste, creed and religion against a common enemy. People are mostly in awe of the judiciary processes when they have to face a case alone, but with the support of the entire nation, it can get easier to a great extent for the father of a rape victim to lodge a complaint against the culprits.

5.Call for a change: If the government thinks that these protests and strikes could actually impede the economic development of the nation or cause harm in any way, it would definitely act upon it to make better rules and law-insuring bodies to prevent such cases from happening. Those joining the protest rallies actually go with the agenda of bringing about change in the present system.

Disadvantages of protest rallies:

1. Waste of time and energy: Protesters waste days and sometime weeks and months, which most of the time fails to get any result. They are driven away by the police, or worse, arrested for violent demonstrations.

2. Losses of common men: Those who work on an everyday basis to earn their daily bread suffer loss of income on the days of strike which usually follows such protests. Means of transportation comes to a halt in the entire city which sometimes create more problem than they solve. Production and transactions are stopped for the entire day, resulting in various loses at the national as well as international level.

3. Risk: There are always risks associated in being a part of protest rallies. Considering the case of JU, where students were beaten up for peaceful protest outside the office of the VC, these measures could not be considered safe. Usage of tear gas, arrest orders, loss of lives, and injuries are other problems that the protesters usually face.

4.Unlawful assemblies: The state might term the protest to be an unlawful assembly and implying to the IPC, the protesters could be subject to the consequences of the act.

Conclusion:

Taking a stand for justice is the right thing to do but it is also important to make sure that we stay within the lawful limits so as not to invite trouble upon the people in the rally. Moreover, to bring about change in the society, blaming the state could never be the solution. The changes have to come from within us, from the mindset of the society that we are a part of and from breaking the rules of the orthodox society that defines right and wrong in the most unjust way.