| Published on 09-10-2006 In National |
| Viewed 889 times |
| Rallies for hire in Kerala |
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Written by
Kumar Chellappan |
Do you want to hold rallies and marches in Kerala? Just ring up V K Devarajan of Thiruvananthapuram and he will supply you professionally trained people for your rallies. Next time when you see a rally or march along the MG Road in the capital city, you can be rest assured that it was made to order from Devarajan's agency. Each participant gets paid Rs 200 plus a sumptuous meal and the rally is bound to be a great success.
In a state where there is no dearth of political parties (a rough estimate puts the figure as 26), mobilizing people for strikes, agitations and rallies is a challenging task. For the government functions district authorities hire the services of schools in the concerned areas and the students are compelled to form the audience for government functions all over the state.
But political rallies are different. There are many letter head organizations masquerading as political parties. Kerala Congress (Mani), Kerala Congress (Joseph), Kerala Congress (Pillai), Kerala Congress (Jacob) and Kerala Congress (George) along with NCP, DICK, Congress (S) are some of the small time players in the state which has a plethora of leaders but no followers other than a few self-seekers. These fringe outfits found that holding rallies and marches in the state capital was a tough job since none of their supporters would travel distances to take part in a demonstration. But not any more.
Seventy one year old Devarajan, a former employee of the Coimbatore based Bombay Burma Trading Corporation is always at hand to help these parties and leaders to hold massive rallies with thousands of participants. Devarajan is a social activist with a difference. He is engaged in myriad activities to help the poor and needy. A marriage agency and home nursing service called Assirvad Janaseva Ashram functions in the city suburbs under his patronage.
Devarajan himself was one of the leaders of Kerala Congress (Mani). But when he understood that the kind of politics being practiced was against the ethos of decency, he quit. "I do not think politicians are serious about solving the problems of the people. Criminals and anti-social elements are getting elected as MLAs and MPs. We are condemned to elect out masters every five years," says Devarajan sitting in his sparsely furnished office in the capital city.
As the state's population is addicted to the idiot box thanks to thirteen satellite TV channels that beam soap operas, cheap comedies and music shows, mobilizing people for these rallies has become a challenging task. With an estimated four million unemployed youth whiling away their time all over the state, Devarajan saw a big potential in this venture.
"More than the profit part of this business, what attracted me was the benefit which could be reaped by these youth," says Devarajan.
He put up an advertisement in the local edition of Kerala Kaumudi, a leading Malayalam daily. "The response was literally mind-boggling," said Devarajan. "I got more than 250 applications from different parts of southern Kerala. Interstingly, each applicant told me that they were capable of bringing in 200 persons for each rally," Devarajan says with a chuckle.
Those were the days of the great split in the Congress in Kerala. The then chief minister Oommen Chandi and senior leader K Karunakaran were in a do or die battle mood to impress the High Command about the strength of their respective factions. The zonal rally held by the Congress factions in the state capital featured volunteers supplied by Devarajan. "The top leaders do not contact me. The frontal organizations approach me with their requirement and I oblige them," said Devarajan.
What makes this venture unique is the fact that Devarajan is doing this only to help the youth. " They get Rs 200 and a good meal for a single rally. If there are some five rallies in a week, they get some sort of subsistence allowance. This is a boon to the unemployed and under utilized people in a state like ours," Devarajan pointed out.
He says that other than these rallies and marches, the political parties do nothing for the common man. "Now that there are so many TV news channels, the leaders are particular that they put up an impressive show to convince the viewers about their strength," says Devarajan.
Devarajan refuses to supply men for protest marches and rallies which throw normal life out of gear. "You can never tell anything how these protest marches would end. There are enough chances of these marches turning violent because of pelting of stones and lathi-charges. Who will take care of my people if they are injured," asks Devarajan.
In a state where rallies, protest marches and parades have become a routine affair, Devarajan's venture could be a trend setter.
Though he has offers and applicants from across the state, Devarajan has curtailed his 'mission' to the capital city. And last heard, he is all set to form a welfare society for the rally workers. An all-Kerala Jatha Thozhilali Union is in the offing to look after the safety and security of his disciplined team of placard bearers and slogan shouters. |
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