Do we protest too much?

No sooner than the ban on plastic was announced in Uttarakhand, various traders & merchants started opposing it. The RTO proposed strict safety rules for auto rickshaws and vans carrying school children. Not only the autorickshaw owners & unions protested against it but so did the parents. The High Court finally ordered a time bound anti encroachment drive. Not only our elected representatives opposed it but the government brought in a new rule, trying to keep the huge numbers of encroachers on our rivers out of the court order. Now an old ruling of compulsory wearing of helmets for pillion riders is going to be implemented and the protests have again started.

Maybe we suffer from a disease called “protestitis”. As a society we seem to be becoming more of protestors than of implementors. Without any doubt the essence of democracy is the right of every viewpoint to be heard. But democracy also means rising above selfish viewpoint and look at the good of the society as a whole. At the moment this is the one thing missing from our thinking. But what surprises me more is our inability to rise beyond our selfish interests. I would have thought that parents should be happy that the authorities are trying to ensure the safety of their children’s transport. But the idea of the transporters raising the charges maybe have the parents worried more than the safety of the child. Or the fact that plastic is endangering our future is less intimidating than the thought of we becoming more industrious and use recycleable alternatives.

I also suspect that we are still grappling with the Raj hangover. It has been hard wired into our brains that authority is bad. They cannot do anything good. We must look at them suspiciously. We fail to understand that it is we ourselves who have voted those who are in power. So now let us allow them to do their jobs too. Analyse their actions, scrutinise their deeds, ask questions. Protest. But do not let our narrow vested interests rise above those of the society as a whole.

Or is it our “chalta hai” attitude? Do we really think that our children are being transported safely at the moment? Not many accidents have happened does not mean many may not happen. Is the convenience of plastic more important than the future of our existence? Are helmets and the lives of our loved ones less important than the thought of buying another helmet. Why should even one death occour because of not wearing a helmet? Why should we see our nallahs and rivers and animals being choked with plastic? Just because it has been happening and we have been living with it?

We should be complimenting the courts, the RTO and other authorities who are taking some tough measures. We want our state, our country to be the best? Then let’s rise above our selfish agendas and get into action mode. Let’s ditch our chalta hai attitude and usher in change.