PEOPLE'S POWER BLOG

Prakash Bhattarai, PhD., “In the assessment of the various South Asian case studies, chronicling countries including Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, the scope of nonviolent action and applications were found to be broad, dynamic, and unique. “

Shubhangi Rana, “The pandemic deepened period poverty, which pushed Pad2Go, a Nepal-based social enterprise to campaign for the removal of the 13% VAT levied on all period products to boost accessibility to all. “

Kusumlata Tiwari, “Unlike men, women protestors had to contend not only with a hostile state, but also hostility towards their gender which meant that their involvement in the protests was laced with further challenges invisible to their male counterparts.”

Mr. Mayank Mishra, “A student-led initiative in its entirety, JNU’s #FeeMustFall movement maintains a perpetual nonviolent character without a single stray incident of ferocity coupled with an ensemble of methods, efforts and strategies throughout to sustain the zeal and momentum of the mobilization.”

Ms. Aakriti Ghimire, “Nirmala Panta, Nirmala Kurmi and Nakunni Dhobi’s cases were consequences of the state’s political negligence. In the 2018 movement organized for Nirmala Panta, the state attempted at diverting the attention of the public proclaiming “a dawn of a new era” in Nepal, rolled out by then KP Oli government.”

Ms. Tamang, “In 2003, the Sikkim government announced a series of 26 hydro projects to be built along the river Teesta and its several tributaries for the purpose of developing territorial regions. The proposed construction of mega hydel project would thus not only destroy the sacred landscape, but also pollute the sanctity of the region by infiltrating of hundreds of migrants labours and harmful to the fragile ecosystem of Kanchendzonga National Park, a World Heritage Site in Dzongu.”

Dr. Mengnjo, “The nonviolent youth protests in Nepal across the aforementioned cities during the Covid-19 lockdowns were claimed to have been demonstrating demands for bringing improvements in the government’s perceived mishandling of the ongoing pandemic.”

Shradha Khadka, “Climate change is certainly not a new topic in the zeitgeist of contemporary times. The increased involvement of youth in this topic, however, certainly is a recent development.”

Suraj Ray, “The Criminal Code, 2074 and Local Administration Act, 2028 prohibit the use of force over peaceful assembly yet the police resorted to using force. “

Bishwash Nepali, “It has been seven decades since land reform issues were raised in Nepal. These issues came forward after the establishment of democracy in 1990, when people achieved a favourable environment for freedom of speech and expressions. However, these issues persist.”

Ajay Kamalakaran, “Ever since the protests began, protestors were demonized and even accused some of being Khalistanis or Sikh separatists. This victimisation and labelling did not just come from pro-government social media users but also senior politicians such as the chief minister of the state of Haryana.”

Imran Sardar, “Looking back at the history of nonviolent movements in Pakistan, one finds a patchy road towards realizing social, political, and economic rights. This does not mean Pakistan’s land is not fertile for nonviolent movements. The people of Pakistan are young and energetic, but less interested, and thus oblivious to the strategies of well-organized nonviolent protests.”

Shobhakar Budhathoki, “While the country was going through an intense period of armed conflict, the king’s autocratic move to dissolve an elected parliament pushed the parties to confront the monarchy.”

Lenin Bista, “Lenin was visiting his uncle at the time he was recruited. He did not join the PLA due to their communist philosophy. His involvement came from his own nationalist sentiments and a desire to be an agent of positive change in the country. “

Md. Moynul Haque, “The nonviolent conflict of the 1952 language movement was fought between two parties: the aggrieved Bengali civilians and the aggressive power elites of West Pakistan. The movement turned out to be a bloody episode, as the peaceful protest of student-masses was seriously repressed by the security forces using a bullet and baton charge, resulting in injury and death of few students including Salam, Barkat, Rafiq, and Jabbar–who were posthumously declared the first martyrs of Bangladesh after the formation of the country.”

Mengnjo Tardzenyuy Thomas, “The role of trade unions in articulating the interests of marginalized groups in any polity cannot be ignored. Cameroon is a country in Central Africa with a population estimate of 21 million inhabitants. Approximately 80 percent of this population is made up of the French-speaking community, while a minority 20 percent is the English-speaking community in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon.”

Ajay Kamalakaran, “Long before Mumbai became the biggest economic and financial centre in South Asia, the Indian city that is an amalgamation of islands was home to a community of fisherfolk called the Kolis. The Kolis have witnessed invasions and colonisation by the Portuguese and the British, with the latter being responsible for reclaiming much of the land in modern-day Mumbai. These original inhabitants now increasingly face dispossession and a complete loss of livelihood because of an ambitious new coastal road that is under construction in Mumbai’s west coast. “

Prashamsha Simkhada, “Nepali women have always been an inseparable part of the nonviolent social movements in Nepal. Whether it be in the 1950s when women fought against the autocratic Rana oligarchy, or at present, when women are demanding equal citizenship rights, women across castes and ethnicities have led and are currently leading the fight for equality and rights for Nepali women.”

Prasiddhi Shrestha “Last September, five Indian nationals were named amongst the 100 most influential people of 2020. One of them was an 83-year old woman Bilkis Dadi, who had been the symbol of strength and resistance against the newly introduced Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in India.”

“In February 1996, local non-Dalit residents launched a Prostitution Eradication Campaign (PEC), aimed at displacing the Badi community from their settlement. This inspired the first organized resistance movement of the Badi community against caste atrocities and forced prostitution in Nepal. As the movement took place in Gagangunj, a small village in Nepalgunj, it is known as the Gagangunj Movement.” Shiva Hari Gyawali

With the COVID-19 pandemic in full swing and the Government of Nepal unable to effectively manage the crisis, Enough is Enough was initiated in early June 2020 by a group of active youngsters who insisted it remain a faceless and nonviolent citizen-movement with clear demands at its core. The campaign served as a rallying point for a huge segment of the urban youth population to demand better action, and accountability.

A large body of literature since the formation of Pakistan in 1947 shows that women’s struggles against patriarchy or dictatorship have remained largely nonviolent. However, there are a few notable exceptions to this statement. For example, the Mohajir Qaumi Movement of 1980s in Sindh Province and the armed conflict in Swat region post 9/11, where women were seen to be supporting violent extremism and jihadist ideology.

The Dalit issue in Nepal is not about tensions between religions, races, languages, or geography. It is the lack of Dalit representation at the state’s policy and decision-making levels coupled with the tokenistic representation of Dalits within political parties and elected offices. On the economic front, Dalits face problems related to landlessness, unemployment and exploitation.

During the 30 days of sit-in and the march, the government applied every strategy to end this protest: blocked roads, fired bullets, shelled tear gas, and arrested protesters. Yet, the nonviolent nature of the protest compelled the government to negotiate. This is significant because, while nonviolent movements have a long history among the Pashtuns, violent protests took over due to the Pakistani state’s policies of proxy wars, penetration of violent groups into the Pashtun region and the popularity of Kalashnikov culture since the Afghan war in the 1980s.

From the much known ‘Occupy Wallstreet’ movement in 2011 in Zuccotti Park, New York City against economic inequality to the much topical ‘George Floyd Square’ as an ongoing occupation protest and memorial site after the vicious killing of an Afro-American man George Floyd in Minneapolis, the US, by a white police officer; a common aspect in the stated leaderless civil resistance movements is the role of ‘space’. In the context of South Asia, the ongoing Farmers Protest in India against the contested three Farm laws–passed by the Indian Parliament in September 2020 to liberalize how and to whom farmers can sell their produce– makes the role of space conspicuous. The rise of occupy movements have highlighted the role and significance of space in social movements.