This post has been self-published on Youth Ki Awaaz by Youth Ki Awaaz. Just like them, anyone can publish on Youth Ki Awaaz.

Was Bandh the Real Solution? [POLL INCLUDED]

By Youth Ki Awaaz in Politics
6th July, 2010

More from Youth Ki Awaaz

Youth Ki Awaaz Special Correspondent Saahil Menghani got stuck because of the Bandh and failed to reach office for work. Read on as he writes about his experience and pens down his anger against the criminal act.

[POLL AT END]

Bandh? Problem? No it’s the solution… Really? BJP would have done the same thing had they been in power. It’s 10:39 now but I can’t go out for the work just because the frustrated supporters of BJP are lying on the road considering it as their home grown hierarchical property.

Prise rise is not entirely a failure of this government but a reflection of changes in the world economy. How can a government not increase the prices of oil when the commodity in the world market is being sold at a higher price. BJP and other opposition parties are blaming the government for being insensitive to the aam aadmi but Mr. Advani or Mr. Modi or Mr Gadkari, please answer one question, what would you have done? If your answer is that we had not increased the prices then there are only two words for you, ‘impractical and illogical’! (for those thinking about food, yes I oppose price rise of food, which is not affected by global phenomenon.)

Who will be held responsible if a pregnant lady is forced to deliver a child mid way just because of this stupid bandh? Who takes the accountability to respond in case an old aged person who suffered an heart attack dies mid-way while being taken to the hospital?

What if I have a meeting with an important client, or an auto driver needs to reach home to serve his ailing mother?

Police stopped me form going further ahead of the road outside my house. So the opposition that claims to be fighting for the common man is actually stopping his development by staging a bandh that is causing us a loss of approximately 20,000 crore. Is this bandh a frustration of all those parties who failed to come to power?

Ok, there are other better ways of countering price rise, certainly not a bandh. Why should a common man sacrifice his precious time? Where is his right to choose? Right to freedom of expression?

Coming back to my experience, the police man clearly stated, “tv nahi dekha? aaj bandh hai…” (haven’t you seen the news, it’s a bandh today…) On telling him that he was doing the wrong thing by stopping me and not the ones who created a menace, he said, “hum kya kar sakte hain, kar to aap sakte ho, vote aapke hath mein hain! ” [what can we do, you are the ones who can do something, the vote is in your hands] (very right!).

Yes the vote is in my hands. And one thing I will make sure of is not to vote for those who stage these bandhs just for their ulterior selfish motives, all in the name of the common man.

Protests were held at the time of our freedom struggle too, but all for a reason, independence. At a time when India is the world’s fastest growing free market democracy it is certainly very amateurish to stage a bandh rather than acting as a responsible opposition and creating awareness by meaningful methods. The poor and the downtrodden do not need these bandh’s to stop price rise, they need us, they need better and positive politicians.

At a time when there are people to whom the price rise matters less, minimal, negligible, there are people who are dying everyday for a single piece of bread, seeing which their eyes glee out of hunger. Yet, it is us, the comfortable citizen who rants about price rise. It is us who crib about the Government and the ‘system’, without really thinking or volunteering to join it and making the change we crib about.

Leave aside all debates, will this Bandh be able to curb price hike?

The best part is that youth seems to be uni-vocal on this issue. So much so that the word “Bharat Bandh” was a top trending topic on Twitter today. [Visit http://twitter.com/#search?q=Bharat%20Bandh to see the flow].

Find below what the youngistaan is saying about the Bharat Bandh today. Your voice matters a lot. Please do drop a comment, voice yourself, be the change.

Poll for the post:

[polldaddy poll=3432981]

Do voice yourself by dropping in a comment or mailing us at editor@youthkiawaaz.com. You can also tweet us at @YouthKiAwaaz[polldaddy poll=3432981]

You must be to comment.

  1. saahilmenghani (SAAHIL MENGHANI)

    @AnupamPkher http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2010/07/was-bandh-the-real-solution/

  2. saahilmenghani (SAAHIL MENGHANI)

    @sardesairajdeep http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2010/07/was-bandh-the-real-solution/

  3. saahilmenghani (SAAHIL MENGHANI)

    @smitaprakash http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2010/07/was-bandh-the-real-solution/

  4. saahilmenghani (SAAHIL MENGHANI)

    http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2010/07/was-bandh-the-real-solution/

  5. saahilmenghani (SAAHIL MENGHANI)

    @NidhiNDTV http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2010/07/was-bandh-the-real-solution/

  6. kunal

    The government kills the masses wit skyrocketing price. The opposition is defunct to help us out.. Bandh and inflation make a potent carrot and stick policy.

  7. Guha Rajan

    Bandh has no meaning. Just for an analogy, we know, US are facing a worst unemployment issue (in double digits) since the great depression. If US does a so called “Bandh” or “Strike” is it not going to solve the problem?.

    Let India’s ruling & opposition work together toward putting counter measures to stop inflation & price rise instead of blaming each other.

  8. Aygul

    Saahil is 100% right…when did complaining help? people shud really start doing something positive and change-making and bandh is definitely not the right solution.Did the prices lower after that????

  9. Tanaya

    vry true….wats the reasn bhind destryin the public properties. the vandalising actions like wrecking soo many buses in mumbai, nd blockin the metro in mumbai hav done nothin but caused gr8 damage to the live of the “aam aadmi” dat the bjp claims to be wrkin fr.

    two days latr, they will say they want a bandh against the lack of transportation in mumbai b’coz “they” destroyd buses.

  10. Sadhogopal Ram

    Politicians were supposed to be the sensible lot of people but seeing the way they operate and execute, “sense” is hardly visible in the actions they take in the name of national interest.

  11. aanchal kapoor

    see…..thats why ppl r nt interested in politics….HUH

  12. YouthKiAwaaz (Youth Ki Awaaz)

    RT @saahilmenghani: my personal exp of being stuck in a #bandh nd the voice of #youth on ‘BANDH’ as a way of protesting http://bit.ly/b8Esj7

  13. Prerna Jayant

    the “mangopeople” accepts the violation of indian govt with just a cold bharatbandh….

More from Youth Ki Awaaz

Similar Posts

By Aulina Pandey

Beyond The Regressive Patriarchy Of Supreme Court: The Role Of Women Farmers

By Mishal Mathews

Taking The Less-Travelled Road Of Development: Alternatives To The Western Model

By Apurv Raj

“I Think Our Democracy Is Functioning Well But With Some Flaws”

Wondering what to write about?

Here are some topics to get you started

Share your details to download the report.









We promise not to spam or send irrelevant information.

Share your details to download the report.









We promise not to spam or send irrelevant information.

An ambassador and trained facilitator under Eco Femme (a social enterprise working towards menstrual health in south India), Sanjina is also an active member of the MHM Collective- India and Menstrual Health Alliance- India. She has conducted Menstrual Health sessions in multiple government schools adopted by Rotary District 3240 as part of their WinS project in rural Bengal. She has also delivered training of trainers on SRHR, gender, sexuality and Menstruation for Tomorrow’s Foundation, Vikramshila Education Resource Society, Nirdhan trust and Micro Finance, Tollygunj Women In Need, Paint It Red in Kolkata.

Now as an MH Fellow with YKA, she’s expanding her impressive scope of work further by launching a campaign to facilitate the process of ensuring better menstrual health and SRH services for women residing in correctional homes in West Bengal. The campaign will entail an independent study to take stalk of the present conditions of MHM in correctional homes across the state and use its findings to build public support and political will to take the necessary action.

Saurabh has been associated with YKA as a user and has consistently been writing on the issue MHM and its intersectionality with other issues in the society. Now as an MHM Fellow with YKA, he’s launched the Right to Period campaign, which aims to ensure proper execution of MHM guidelines in Delhi’s schools.

The long-term aim of the campaign is to develop an open culture where menstruation is not treated as a taboo. The campaign also seeks to hold the schools accountable for their responsibilities as an important component in the implementation of MHM policies by making adequate sanitation infrastructure and knowledge of MHM available in school premises.

Read more about his campaign.

Harshita is a psychologist and works to support people with mental health issues, particularly adolescents who are survivors of violence. Associated with the Azadi Foundation in UP, Harshita became an MHM Fellow with YKA, with the aim of promoting better menstrual health.

Her campaign #MeriMarzi aims to promote menstrual health and wellness, hygiene and facilities for female sex workers in UP. She says, “Knowledge about natural body processes is a very basic human right. And for individuals whose occupation is providing sexual services, it becomes even more important.”

Meri Marzi aims to ensure sensitised, non-discriminatory health workers for the needs of female sex workers in the Suraksha Clinics under the UPSACS (Uttar Pradesh State AIDS Control Society) program by creating more dialogues and garnering public support for the cause of sex workers’ menstrual rights. The campaign will also ensure interventions with sex workers to clear misconceptions around overall hygiene management to ensure that results flow both ways.

Read more about her campaign.

MH Fellow Sabna comes with significant experience working with a range of development issues. A co-founder of Project Sakhi Saheli, which aims to combat period poverty and break menstrual taboos, Sabna has, in the past, worked on the issue of menstruation in urban slums of Delhi with women and adolescent girls. She and her team also released MenstraBook, with menstrastories and organised Menstra Tlk in the Delhi School of Social Work to create more conversations on menstruation.

With YKA MHM Fellow Vineet, Sabna launched Menstratalk, a campaign that aims to put an end to period poverty and smash menstrual taboos in society. As a start, the campaign aims to begin conversations on menstrual health with five hundred adolescents and youth in Delhi through offline platforms, and through this community mobilise support to create Period Friendly Institutions out of educational institutes in the city.

Read more about her campaign. 

A student from Delhi School of Social work, Vineet is a part of Project Sakhi Saheli, an initiative by the students of Delhi school of Social Work to create awareness on Menstrual Health and combat Period Poverty. Along with MHM Action Fellow Sabna, Vineet launched Menstratalk, a campaign that aims to put an end to period poverty and smash menstrual taboos in society.

As a start, the campaign aims to begin conversations on menstrual health with five hundred adolescents and youth in Delhi through offline platforms, and through this community mobilise support to create Period Friendly Institutions out of educational institutes in the city.

Find out more about the campaign here.

A native of Bhagalpur district – Bihar, Shalini Jha believes in equal rights for all genders and wants to work for a gender-equal and just society. In the past she’s had a year-long association as a community leader with Haiyya: Organise for Action’s Health Over Stigma campaign. She’s pursuing a Master’s in Literature with Ambedkar University, Delhi and as an MHM Fellow with YKA, recently launched ‘Project अल्हड़ (Alharh)’.

She says, “Bihar is ranked the lowest in India’s SDG Index 2019 for India. Hygienic and comfortable menstruation is a basic human right and sustainable development cannot be ensured if menstruators are deprived of their basic rights.” Project अल्हड़ (Alharh) aims to create a robust sensitised community in Bhagalpur to collectively spread awareness, break the taboo, debunk myths and initiate fearless conversations around menstruation. The campaign aims to reach at least 6000 adolescent girls from government and private schools in Baghalpur district in 2020.

Read more about the campaign here.

A psychologist and co-founder of a mental health NGO called Customize Cognition, Ritika forayed into the space of menstrual health and hygiene, sexual and reproductive healthcare and rights and gender equality as an MHM Fellow with YKA. She says, “The experience of working on MHM/SRHR and gender equality has been an enriching and eye-opening experience. I have learned what’s beneath the surface of the issue, be it awareness, lack of resources or disregard for trans men, who also menstruate.”

The Transmen-ses campaign aims to tackle the issue of silence and disregard for trans men’s menstruation needs, by mobilising gender sensitive health professionals and gender neutral restrooms in Lucknow.

Read more about the campaign here.

A Computer Science engineer by education, Nitisha started her career in the corporate sector, before realising she wanted to work in the development and social justice space. Since then, she has worked with Teach For India and Care India and is from the founding batch of Indian School of Development Management (ISDM), a one of its kind organisation creating leaders for the development sector through its experiential learning post graduate program.

As a Youth Ki Awaaz Menstrual Health Fellow, Nitisha has started Let’s Talk Period, a campaign to mobilise young people to switch to sustainable period products. She says, “80 lakh women in Delhi use non-biodegradable sanitary products, generate 3000 tonnes of menstrual waste, that takes 500-800 years to decompose; which in turn contributes to the health issues of all menstruators, increased burden of waste management on the city and harmful living environment for all citizens.

Let’s Talk Period aims to change this by

Find out more about her campaign here.

Share your details to download the report.









We promise not to spam or send irrelevant information.

A former Assistant Secretary with the Ministry of Women and Child Development in West Bengal for three months, Lakshmi Bhavya has been championing the cause of menstrual hygiene in her district. By associating herself with the Lalana Campaign, a holistic menstrual hygiene awareness campaign which is conducted by the Anahat NGO, Lakshmi has been slowly breaking taboos when it comes to periods and menstrual hygiene.

A Gender Rights Activist working with the tribal and marginalized communities in india, Srilekha is a PhD scholar working on understanding body and sexuality among tribal girls, to fill the gaps in research around indigenous women and their stories. Srilekha has worked extensively at the grassroots level with community based organisations, through several advocacy initiatives around Gender, Mental Health, Menstrual Hygiene and Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) for the indigenous in Jharkhand, over the last 6 years.

Srilekha has also contributed to sustainable livelihood projects and legal aid programs for survivors of sex trafficking. She has been conducting research based programs on maternal health, mental health, gender based violence, sex and sexuality. Her interest lies in conducting workshops for young people on life skills, feminism, gender and sexuality, trauma, resilience and interpersonal relationships.

A Guwahati-based college student pursuing her Masters in Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Bidisha started the #BleedwithDignity campaign on the technology platform Change.org, demanding that the Government of Assam install
biodegradable sanitary pad vending machines in all government schools across the state. Her petition on Change.org has already gathered support from over 90000 people and continues to grow.

Bidisha was selected in Change.org’s flagship program ‘She Creates Change’ having run successful online advocacy
campaigns, which were widely recognised. Through the #BleedwithDignity campaign; she organised and celebrated World Menstrual Hygiene Day, 2019 in Guwahati, Assam by hosting a wall mural by collaborating with local organisations. The initiative was widely covered by national and local media, and the mural was later inaugurated by the event’s chief guest Commissioner of Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) Debeswar Malakar, IAS.

Sign up for the Youth Ki Awaaz Prime Ministerial Brief below