Aim of morchas must be to bring about change

High-tech cameras capture the MVA’s protest march, on Saturday. Pic/Shadab Khan

The recent Maha Vikas Aghadi protest saw morcha veterans, older political leaders who had demonstrated decades earlier, decoding modern agitations, according to a report in this paper. Today is the time of high-decibel sound systems, high-definition cameras and SUVs packed with karyakartas streaming into the city.

Tracing the trajectory of morchas, some leaders commented on how vehicles now bring karyakartas to protest sites, something unheard of in earlier times. Participants are given food and water, which was also not the case earlier.

Certain points were interesting, with yesteryear leaders comparing contemporary morchas to ‘events' where leaders actually give their cadres a target ie bringing a certain number of people to protests.

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One comment, though, stood out - all the modernization and progress notwithstanding, ideology and demands are more important.

While morchas hold a mirror up to society, they must be for a valid reason and must make a point. Crowds, strong-arm tactics and pyrotechnics can never take the place of solid ideology. You cannot camouflage a bogus, pointless protest through some high jinks and hope it works.

It is also important that the real reason for the protest does not get obfuscated by razzmatazz. Today, we live in an age where marketing oneself, preening, making grandiose claims and projection are used as a cover for a lack of talent or real value. This may work for a while, but eventually, the smokescreen is blown away.

Similarly, protests must not be accompanied by violence or disturbance or be only about creating an uproar.

The aim of modern morchas must be to change a situation or at least stimulate debate and an awakening of civil society.