Infiltrating OROP

The OROP movement is now fair game to be infiltrated by elements, who would take it to a level, where it can be categorized as "violent"

The ex-veterans run the risk of being turned into political cannon fodder.

The political wolves are now circling around and closing in to make their kill

Suddenly, it seems that the OROP movement has exploded.

Veterans all over India have managed to spiral their movement to a level that is now warranting prime time TV cacophony.

Nothing touches the heart of an Indian than the plight of its army men.

Veterans are, in their individual capacity, cycling long distances, from city to city, and in the process increasing awareness.

Hundreds are on hunger strike, with their frail body, tired eyes not betraying any signs of defeat, albeit, resolute in their demands and unwavering in their purpose.

Blood soaked letters were dispatched, elevating the tussle to a new level.

Striking an emotional chord with millions of Indians all over the world.

Now, suddenly, it seems, the movement has attained a new sparkling vigor and has finally forced itself on the front pages and headline news.

From the government's conceit and submissive media’s earlier stand, specifying that only handful of rabble rousers amongst the veterans were creating nuisance, to the usually docile media unexpectedly stepping out of Media blackout diktat, reporting about the movement is not bad news for the veterans, it seems.

Ironically, the same political parties, who had not long since denied, nor took heed of the soldier’s plight are now queuing up offering undiluted support.

Last week, the anguished ex-servicemen, impatient by government’s tepid response resorted to another tragic step.

The decorated ex-servicemen decided to start returning their medals. 

Some want them returned back to the government others want them burned.

That, now the veterans have lost all confidence in the government’s sincerity, and their impatience is mounting and their anguish intensifying into genuine anger is for all to see.

The main stream Indian media is showcasing the impression that the OROP movement is slowly morphing from a dignified, restrained and peaceful protest to a hot headed, boisterous, on the threshold of getting violent and unruly.

A protest, with a large number of impatient people, spread across the nation, yet dissenting vociferously in unison, on the verge of being aggressive, and garnering prime time media attention, in the life cycle of any protest, is the brash adolescence.

This is where government wants the protest to be.

The unresponsive government, the sadistic police, and the straitlaced bureaucrats understand how to deal effectively with this kind of dissent. They have trained to deal with a situation violently.

Most of the times, they do not need a fig leaf of justification to viciously suppress protesting multitudes, nor do they care.

They however, betray a deer-in-headlights symptoms, when faced by a peaceful, restrained, and a highly disciplined set of protesters.

Recall, two such movements, which were disciplined and peaceful, and garnered tremendous response from the public across India.

The Jan Lokpal movement and Ramdev’s protest.

After appeasement, media blackout, nefarious subterfuge, and finally personal attacks failed to deter the movement leaders, and their followers alike, the protest was snuffed out in two different ways.

Anna’s Janlokpal movement was successfully infiltrated, and diluted in its demands.

It finally diffused into nothingness in a long drawn out parliamentary process.

The entire parliament members lied in unison, knowing well, that nearly all of them would end up behind bars, should the Jan Lokpal Movement be implemented as desired by the civil society.

Swami Ramdev’s was another story, comical, but for the unfortunate death of one of the supporters.

As the police charged in, Swami Ramdev, fearing for his life, scampered in a women’s garb, and retired into semi-private life, resorting to making noises in the secured environment of media studios.

Government wants the OROP movement to be projected as a protest turning violent, so that it may suppress it violently.

The OROP movement is now fair game to be infiltrated by elements, who would take it to a level, where it can be categorized as “violent”. The ex-veterans run the risk of being turned into political cannon fodder.

The political wolves are now circling around and closing in to make their kill.

How will the veterans deal with this new maneuver?

 

By Col Sandeep Pandit

[Tri Services Veterans] 15 November 2015 at 12:04

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