On hearing the nature of the upcoming strike in the state of Tamil Nadu, the state I reside in, I was immediately transported back to King Herod’s time…
On Monday, the 1st of October, all of Tamil Nadu will be shut down.
The official reason stated for this event is for the speedy implementation of what is called the Sethusamudram Project – which is basically to create a shipping canal between India and Sri Lanka. This is said to provide a continuous navigable route around some very shallow waters called the Sethu Samudram. Benefits – it will enhance trade and reduce travel time for all ships passing through.
Issues to deal with : possible imbalance of ecology in that particular zone and could cause high tides, oil spills will reach the coast faster than before, coastal line erosion might be more rapid. Another large concern is that it might open up the economic route for funding the LTTE – a militant Tamil organization that has violently demanded that Sri Lanka create a seperate Tamil state in what was formerly known as Ceylon.
OK!!! Now to the interesting part…
The unofficial reason for the state-wide strike is due to this:
A former member of the Parliament, Ram Vilas Vedanthi, made a threat against the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu allegedly stating that he was going to have the Chief Minister beheaded and would offer as a reward, the weight of his head in gold!!!!
Okay, people…King Herod still alive in 2007???
This statement created great tension in the community as it endangered the life of the Chief Minister . So here is another chance for the Tamilians to protest and violently nonetheless…
The ironic thing is that although I never thought I would see the day there would be a 4-day weekend in India, the day following this possible violent strike or bandh as it is called here, India celebrates the birthday of one of its greatest leaders, Mahatma Gandhi – the preacher of non-violence. No where else in the world could you find this juxtaposition between violence and non-violence… It is a National Holiday to commemorate his great life and remember the Freedom Struggle – only 50+ years later, they are still struggling with it among themselves.
For those of us who have lived outside of India, it is unimaginable to shut down an entire state for one day knowing that it could have some serious $$ loss to the country – no trade or transport, period. And the feeling is that the political parties are using this as a platform to promote themselves and the ones who will be fighting will be the common man with not much to lose but his life.
Another day in India….
