More often than not it is public property that becomes the prime target and is the worst hit during a protest or riot, irrespective of whether it is called by a political party or any two-paisa outfit looking for its five seconds of fame. The ongoing protests and violence in Rohtak, in Haryana and Villupuram, in Tamil Nadu reflect this dangerous trend where it is considered alright to vandalise public property and cause inconvenience to public life when grievances are not met. Tension in Karontha village, in Rohtak over the ownership of the Satlok Ashram turned violent when police, present to give protection to the ashram as per court orders, stopped protesting members of the Arya Prathinidhi Sabha from entering the ashram. In the ensuing violence three people were killed and hundreds were injured. Public transport vehicles were torched in addition to traffic being blocked on major roads. Similarly, the protests by the PMK claimed three lives, saw 16 vehicles torched, more than 800 vehicles damaged, two bridges damaged by explosives and more than 150 trees felled or torched. Whatever be the perceived injustice the aggrieved groups feel, there is no justification for violence and violence of this scale by no stretch of its meaning can be called a protest. This is simply a macabre display of highhandedness or goondaism.
The right to freedom of expression, with reasonable restrictions, and the right to assemble peacefully is a fundamental right enshrined in our Constitution. Peaceful protests were a tool used by our leaders to fight the colonial British to win our freedom. However, this right has been misinterpreted, misused and abused by all and sundry. Vandals ransacking the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute in Pune in 2004, right wing groups vandalising paintings of MF Husain and other artistes, the quota protests by Gujjars blocking the Delhi-Jaipur highway, etc, show that protests for many mean to give the other party a bloody nose and destroy public property. What protesting groups fail to realise is that their right to protest does not supersede the right of someone to peaceful living.
While political parties and other groups are quick to highlight the deplorable condition of public transport and other public services, they are also the first ones to vandalise them. This should stop — now. Stronger laws, and its effective enforcement, need to come in place to ensure that public property is protected. Punishment in the form of fines and jail terms depending on the severity of the damage caused, need to be enforced. In this light Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa has rightly stated that the government will claim the damages from the PMK responsible for the mayhem using the Tamil Nadu Public Property (Prevention of Damage and Loss) Act, 1992. It is to be seen if Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will take such a stand.
