For many decades, instant strike has been a curse for Kerala. All kinds of organizations have shut down the state at different times and over the years to show their political power.
Stranded passengers, stone pelting casualties, deserted roads, shops and private properties vandalized, damaged public transport buses, hospitals devoid of patients, empty public offices, closed schools and closed fuel depots are classic vignettes of strike life in Kerala.
Keralites remain indoors for the most part of the day, at least until the initial momentum of the strike is over. Strikes have changed the rhythm of everyday life on several occasions. The repeated strikes arguably run the risk of projecting Kerala as a politically sharp and permanently unstable state with little regard for civil rights.
Kerala has faced many such horrific strikes that the people seem to have lost their count. Many citizens appear to agree with the strikes as an indisputable fact of life. His anger is mainly reflected in critical memes and social media trolls.
More recently, strikes in Kerala have often been called at the drop of a hat and, for seemingly insignificant reasons, have earned criticism that most are outright unfair.
The strikes in Kerala have also taken a different form in the age of mobile phones. Organizations use closed online messaging groups to direct their cadres, away from the public eye. Such covertly conducted and remote-controlled attacks have come to be known as “WhatsApp, guerrilla or flash strikes”.
For the Kerala High Court, the most recent strike called by the Popular Front of India (PFI) to protest the arrest of its top leaders by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has crossed a threshold.
At least two petrol bomb attacks took place in northern Kerala. Masked and helmeted persons traveling on motorbikes targeted buses, vehicles, shops and hotels in the state.
a pre-planned action
Several attacks took place near surveillance camera blindspots, indicating pre-planned action. The strike supporters mainly vented their anger on Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses and private vehicles carrying passengers to airports, hospitals, social gatherings and railway stations.
Kerala High Court registered a suo moto Holding PFI leaders responsible for damage to public and private property due to privatization, violence and strike. It prescribed confiscation of damage caused to public and private property as a pre-condition for granting bail to strike supporters.
The court held the PFI strike to be illegal. It said that the organization is liable for contempt of court. In earlier judgments, the High Court had insisted that organizations or individuals calling for a general strike should give advance notice of at least seven days to citizens so that the state would have sufficient time to prepare for the strike and protect the public interest. Are.
The directive empowered the public to file their objection, if any, in the court. It also allowed the judiciary to examine the legality of the strike call.
A High Court Bench of Justice AK Jaishankaran Nambiar and Justice Mohd Nias CP observed that “the citizens of the State cannot be made to live in fear merely because they do not have the organized power of those individuals or political parties at whose behest Violent acts happen. carried out during the strike.”
In a landmark ruling, the judges held the strike organizers directly responsible for the injuries caused to civilians and damage to public and private property.
Kerala HC ruled: “It is the rule of law, not the rule of men or mob that legitimizes the rule under our democracy. The call for flash strike is illegal and unconstitutional, as sufficient public notice has not been given before it.” .
The court drew a clear line between peaceful demonstrations and violent protests.
Legal experts, traders’ associations and various civic groups have hailed the decision as a watershed decision that will deter those who launch a strike with little respect for the public interest, free from punishment.
However, whether Kerala’s future protests will become more democratic and citizens remains to be seen.