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October 18/2011: The way corporate culture is affecting the country is known to one and all. Precious agricultural land is being forcibly taken away from protesting farmers. The examples are many, from Posco in Orissa to Bhatta Parsaul in Noida, force is the order of the day. The agricultural sector is bearing the brunt of the excessive new found love for industrialization. But the manifestations are many. We had criticized Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid’s unabashed statement favouring industrialists in the column titled ’25 feet high walls’ dated 17 October where he had stated that putting businessmen behind bars might affect investments. But this mind-set is going beyond statements. Another section that has fallen victim is the labour class. With prime focus on profit making, company bosses go all out to ensure that nothing comes in the way of money spinning. Any voice of dissent from workers is suppressed at the earliest, using every conceivable means available.

The fact that the Judicial system has more sympathy for corporates than workers does not help either. A fresh example of this discriminatory attitude is the workers strike at the Maruti Suzuki India plant in Manesar, Haryana. The workers have been on strike since 7 October. But after six days of the strike, the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed the workers not to demonstrate within 100 metres of the plant premises. The workers, who were understandably miffed over the judgement, defied the court orders and went ahead with their strike as planned. In this context, the worldwide ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement needs special mention. The corporate greed that we are talking about is not limited by geographical boundaries.

Greed and power go hand in hand. Where there is power, be it money or position, need translates to absolute and pure greed. This manner of using power to generate more power has been recognized as a worldwide phenomenon and is now being resented by common people spanning cultures, creed and colour. The huge support for the Wall Street movement is proof enough. Wall Street in New York, which is the stock market hub, is synonymous with money power. The protest targets this very power hub and others like it. The movement which started in New York has spread across 80 countries spanning 950 big cities. Protesters in Europe, America, Asia and Australia have united their voice against the widening gap between the rich and the poor. Citizens of the world have raised concern over the excessive sympathy of their respective governments for the corporate and banking sectors, lamenting over the neglect of the common man.

India has seen its fair share of corporate love affairs. Even in the banking sector, huge revival packages are given to banks whereas the poor has to struggle for two square meals a day. In fact, it has been observed that an inpidual spending more than Rs.26 per day in rural areas and Rs.32 per day in urban India cannot be considered poor. This attitude has helped create a handful of billionaires in a country teeming with billions trying to make ends meet below the poverty line. A few names in the list of Richest People of the World can do nothing to change the image or reality of a country battling poverty, unemployment and corruption. It only creates power centres where a few people with insurmountable money control the system. This has given rise to a new voice of protest all over the world.

Earlier, any voice raised against the rich, favouring the poor was termed as communism or socialism. But these two words have lost their punch after their meaning and interpretation were distorted in China. That is why the new ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement has generated so much interest and involvement. It can be taken as the voice of a people fed up with the order of the day, crying out for justice and fair play.

In this context, the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s observations on workers’ right to protest needs to be looked at more closely. The Judicial system is set up to uphold justice. But when it goes against that very idea, there are bound to be negative implications. Workers openly challenging the Court by ignoring its directives is a sign that should be taken seriously. The anti poor (read masses) attitude of the judiciary or any other part of the system is not going to go down well with the people in times to come. Defiance, as observed now, is a signal that things are on the wrong track and have to change, and that change better be soon. When people lose faith on their government or judiciary, social order will go for a toss. Once that happens, the rest can Rest In Peace.