At the centre was a stage for the shehnai players. Off to the side was a bus that costs several crores. All around, huge lights were illuminating a little area at the entrance of Varanasi’s Bhaisasur ghat. And in the middle of all that were the people who were to participate in Headlines Today’s Election Express show.
The show adopted the format that has become de rigeur in the electronic media in this election: the nukkad sabha (street-corner meeting). These sabhas are just like the ones held by political parties, except here the host is a star anchor. The panel features voluble representatives of each of the contenders. There's a dash of local flavour, by way of musicians (or a conch player or chanting brahmins). Finally, there's an audience filled with partisans of the competing parties, determined to advertise their allegiances to the camera, even (or especially) at the risk of conflict.
Eminently watchable television, rarely illuminating journalism. This is the kind of nukkad sabha that fails to do what such meetings are meant to achieve: moving the conversation forward.
Just a few hundred yards away from Headlines Today’s elaborate set, down the steps of the same ghat on the banks of the Ganga, a completely different discussion was under way, yet one that was grappling with the same problem.
Rajiv, a resident of Lucknow and a veteran activist, was attempting to convey the significance of our times to the 30-strong audience at the baithak.
“This is an historic opportunity," he said. "We can’t ignore what’s happened in the last two years; hundreds of thousands of people have come to the streets, mostly youngsters, and made it clear that they are interested in the future of this country. Within a year, what we need now, is a national stage that pulls all of our different movements together, one that takes advantage of this historic opportunity and achieves something with our activism.”
The meeting had been organised by members of the Sarnath-based Lokvidya Jan Andolan (People’s Movement for Knowledge), which had brought together activists from groups representing all sorts of interests: farmers, small traders, fishermen, boatmen, women’s rights activists and more. Distant as it was from Headlines Today’s show, the meeting was also distinct in its politics, preferring instead the slow-drip approach of grassroots activism.
The debate on offer was, however, one that can be heard from the mouths of social activists the world over: how do we break the barriers between our different groups? How do we come together on one stage in a way that turns our movements into ones that could change the nation? How do we ensure we aren’t simply hitting our heads against the wall?
But two things brought a different urgency to the discussions at hand.
One was the proximity of the elections, which conclude May 12. For the last few months, activists across the country have been using the impending polls as the rallying point for their individual efforts. Soon that will no longer be possible, and the new government might have a different view towards purveyors of dissent.
The other thread that ran through the course of the meeting was the success, or lack thereof, of the Aam Aadmi Party, a political product that emerged out of public rights advocacy and activism. Activists across the country have been struggling to figure out if they want to berate the AAP for selling out or celebrate it for taking at least some of their concerns to mainstream platforms. This baithak was no different.
“Neither Anna [Hazare] nor Arvind Kejriwal [of AAP] have what it takes to move this forward," Rajiv said. "Forget taking the movements to their conclusions, I’m saying they can’t even move it forward. But that’s why we need people to step up right now. If that means we have to start a political party, that’s no bad thing. If that means fighting elections, we’ve done it before. What we need to do is get going today.”
Such urgency is rarely appreciated in these discussions, and a voice emerged quickly enough advising caution. Anil, a Keralite and a member of the Programme for Social Action, warned against embracing the youth who have entered the fray.
“What we have to do is look at processes. We have to invest in processes. We need to figure out ways to capture the youth,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean we have to invite all these people in. This crowd that has joined of late, how long will they stay? How can we trust them?”
But that didn’t allay the bigger fear of most at the baithak: what happens next? The most common refrain was one of activism fatigue; grassroots workers stuck in their own movements with little support from each other — farmers not supporting labourers not supporting small traders not supporting feminists, and so on.
“Every day there is a new group turning up,” said Shashi Bhushan, of the All India Kabadi Mazdoor Mahasangh. “Every day there is a new movement, but we have yet to find the ultimate solution, the platform that will allow us to work together. Movements seem like they remain movements, without actually moving anything forward.”
The conversation meandered. One man spoke of the need for activists on the ground to remain the “eyes and ears” of their friends who had gone into politics. A teacher at the Kashi Vidyapeeth called for a paradigm shift, moving from “many small questions” to “one big question”. Manoj, a youngsters from Bihar, said almost nothing was happening to end the caste system. Another activist spoke of a “great rupture” after May 16, the day election results will be announced, calling for new tools, new formations and new approaches. One even said they need to question the slogan that unites activists, “Hum sab ek hain”, we are united.
Finally Sanjeev, from Delhi, burst out. “So what now? What are we actually doing?”
Santosh, a member of Sangharsh and one of those who had helped organise the meeting, tried to sum up with the kind of agenda is familiar to many who practice the slow art of activism in this country: concluding a meeting with the only outcome of having decided to hold another meeting.
“The most important thing would be for all of us to bring our various groups and sit together," he said. "To spend at least a whole day charting out a plan, after the elections, for how we should move forward.” The group then decided to meet the next day, at the Vidya Ashram in Sarnath across the Ganga, to discuss when they would have this day-long get-together.
At the top of the ghat, the shehnai players were back at their instruments, playing Saare Jahaan Se Accha, as another night of prime-time politicking had come to an end.
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The show adopted the format that has become de rigeur in the electronic media in this election: the nukkad sabha (street-corner meeting). These sabhas are just like the ones held by political parties, except here the host is a star anchor. The panel features voluble representatives of each of the contenders. There's a dash of local flavour, by way of musicians (or a conch player or chanting brahmins). Finally, there's an audience filled with partisans of the competing parties, determined to advertise their allegiances to the camera, even (or especially) at the risk of conflict.
Eminently watchable television, rarely illuminating journalism. This is the kind of nukkad sabha that fails to do what such meetings are meant to achieve: moving the conversation forward.
Just a few hundred yards away from Headlines Today’s elaborate set, down the steps of the same ghat on the banks of the Ganga, a completely different discussion was under way, yet one that was grappling with the same problem.
Rajiv, a resident of Lucknow and a veteran activist, was attempting to convey the significance of our times to the 30-strong audience at the baithak.
“This is an historic opportunity," he said. "We can’t ignore what’s happened in the last two years; hundreds of thousands of people have come to the streets, mostly youngsters, and made it clear that they are interested in the future of this country. Within a year, what we need now, is a national stage that pulls all of our different movements together, one that takes advantage of this historic opportunity and achieves something with our activism.”
The meeting had been organised by members of the Sarnath-based Lokvidya Jan Andolan (People’s Movement for Knowledge), which had brought together activists from groups representing all sorts of interests: farmers, small traders, fishermen, boatmen, women’s rights activists and more. Distant as it was from Headlines Today’s show, the meeting was also distinct in its politics, preferring instead the slow-drip approach of grassroots activism.
The debate on offer was, however, one that can be heard from the mouths of social activists the world over: how do we break the barriers between our different groups? How do we come together on one stage in a way that turns our movements into ones that could change the nation? How do we ensure we aren’t simply hitting our heads against the wall?
But two things brought a different urgency to the discussions at hand.
One was the proximity of the elections, which conclude May 12. For the last few months, activists across the country have been using the impending polls as the rallying point for their individual efforts. Soon that will no longer be possible, and the new government might have a different view towards purveyors of dissent.
The other thread that ran through the course of the meeting was the success, or lack thereof, of the Aam Aadmi Party, a political product that emerged out of public rights advocacy and activism. Activists across the country have been struggling to figure out if they want to berate the AAP for selling out or celebrate it for taking at least some of their concerns to mainstream platforms. This baithak was no different.
“Neither Anna [Hazare] nor Arvind Kejriwal [of AAP] have what it takes to move this forward," Rajiv said. "Forget taking the movements to their conclusions, I’m saying they can’t even move it forward. But that’s why we need people to step up right now. If that means we have to start a political party, that’s no bad thing. If that means fighting elections, we’ve done it before. What we need to do is get going today.”
Such urgency is rarely appreciated in these discussions, and a voice emerged quickly enough advising caution. Anil, a Keralite and a member of the Programme for Social Action, warned against embracing the youth who have entered the fray.
“What we have to do is look at processes. We have to invest in processes. We need to figure out ways to capture the youth,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean we have to invite all these people in. This crowd that has joined of late, how long will they stay? How can we trust them?”
But that didn’t allay the bigger fear of most at the baithak: what happens next? The most common refrain was one of activism fatigue; grassroots workers stuck in their own movements with little support from each other — farmers not supporting labourers not supporting small traders not supporting feminists, and so on.
“Every day there is a new group turning up,” said Shashi Bhushan, of the All India Kabadi Mazdoor Mahasangh. “Every day there is a new movement, but we have yet to find the ultimate solution, the platform that will allow us to work together. Movements seem like they remain movements, without actually moving anything forward.”
The conversation meandered. One man spoke of the need for activists on the ground to remain the “eyes and ears” of their friends who had gone into politics. A teacher at the Kashi Vidyapeeth called for a paradigm shift, moving from “many small questions” to “one big question”. Manoj, a youngsters from Bihar, said almost nothing was happening to end the caste system. Another activist spoke of a “great rupture” after May 16, the day election results will be announced, calling for new tools, new formations and new approaches. One even said they need to question the slogan that unites activists, “Hum sab ek hain”, we are united.
Finally Sanjeev, from Delhi, burst out. “So what now? What are we actually doing?”
Santosh, a member of Sangharsh and one of those who had helped organise the meeting, tried to sum up with the kind of agenda is familiar to many who practice the slow art of activism in this country: concluding a meeting with the only outcome of having decided to hold another meeting.
“The most important thing would be for all of us to bring our various groups and sit together," he said. "To spend at least a whole day charting out a plan, after the elections, for how we should move forward.” The group then decided to meet the next day, at the Vidya Ashram in Sarnath across the Ganga, to discuss when they would have this day-long get-together.
At the top of the ghat, the shehnai players were back at their instruments, playing Saare Jahaan Se Accha, as another night of prime-time politicking had come to an end.