E-Book - Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi and Contemporary… 107Gujarat. The movement of Medha Patkar against theconstruction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam was actually crushed,and with the dam already in place, new interests have beenformed around it. When nonviolent movements for defendingthe lives of people are crushed, the state is giving a long arm tothose who subscribe to violence to have a field day as we sawin Dantewada in 2010.Anna Hazare’s movement became a hit because it wasorganized around corruption, which had a lowest commondenominator appeal across a cross section, which MedhaPatkar’s movement did not have. This also speaks about how amovement needs these days to be linked up with civil society inorder to gain that stature. Same applies with respect to use ofthe media including the internet. Hazare himself had invitedIrom Sharmila Chanu to join him in Ram Lila grounds, whichshe politely refused. Instead she asked him to come down toImphal to join her protest. It is symptomatic of how anortheasterner will respond to protests in the mainland. For herthe Armed Forces Special Powers Act itself is one of thefoundational instruments for the perpetuation of corruption inthe country. Whether Hazare and his followers wouldappreciate this position is a different story.Individualised nonviolent action can at times arise fromsome kind of helplessness. In the case of Irom Sharmila Chanu,it was her way of responding to the masculine state bypresenting her body in self-sacrifice to make the state relent.But even after 11 years, the state has not relented, but hasnonetheless kept her body alive to prevent a backlash. It wasseen by the Indian state as a challenge arising from theborderlands worthy of inattention at least for some more time.But the Hazare movement arose in the very heartland of Indiadrawing the urban segments who play a major role in opinionformation in the country. The Indian government would also