Does the Nation Need ‘Kaafi Real’ Protection From Aandolan Jivi?

Right to protest is our right as citizens, but we are told that the nation must be protected from ‘aandolan jivi’.

Photo Courtesy: Aroop Mishra/The Quint

In the backdrop of the international condemnation of the government’s inaction over the farmers’ protests, PM Modi introduced the term ‘andolan jivi’ in the Parliament on Monday, 8 February, to describe citizens who live from one andolan (agitation) to another.

Snubbing the demonstrators who were earlier protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act for being discriminatory towards one minority community, or those who were advocating women’s safety and are now part of the farmers’ movement, the PM said a new breed of agitators have emerged in the country.

Farmer unions have condemned Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ‘insulting farmers’. They strongly objected to his remarks in the House and said that agitation has an important role to play in a democracy.

And, isn’t the right to peacefully protest a fundamental right in the Constitution? It’s a powerful medium to express the plight of minorities and systematically exploited communities such as the farmers in India.

If we agree that the right to protest is our right as citizens, but are told by State representatives that the nation must be protected from the likes of ‘andolan jivi’, where does that leave us?

The right to protest is a fundamental right in the Constitution. 

(Kaafi Real is a series of cartoons on The Quint. You can check out all our other Kaafi Real cartoons here.)