To those of you who are new to what happened at the Campa
Cola Compound in Worli, Mumbai, this link would be of help.
The bull dozer was ready, the policemen were in position and
it seemed as if homes would become rubble, dreams destroyed and memories
rendered meaningless.
However, the children of Campa Cola maintained their
composure and displayed stoicism of an unseen kind. What was seen in myriad
movies and clips of passive resistance or Satyagraha was very much in evidence.
On the 12th of November,2013,in Mumbai on a November morning.
Children, mothers, grandmothers, the sick and the elderly, young men, women,
parents all of them with tears streaming, refusing to accept what was to them
an unacceptable breach of their property, denial of their rights and a shocking
disregard for the human plight.
The policemen in uniform had no choice but to obey the “elected
representatives” and do their duty. As force began to be exerted and the
bulldozer crushed the gate, it almost looked as if what happened on countless
occasions when the British ruled the country as a colony, would be repeated.
But it did not become
another Jallianwala Bagh and no one was injured grievously. Almost as if caused
by a hand of God, the Supreme Court felt pangs
of conscience and ruled that there was a human interest involved and that while
the rule of law would have to be implemented, its spirit should not be lost.
The demolition was stayed till the end of May 2014! Many relieved souls at the compound would have
repeated the proverb, “Bhagwan ke ghar mein der hoga, par andher nahin”.Roughly
translated, it would mean "there may be a delay in God’s blessings, but it will always
come”. Skeptics would have remarked that the first part of the proverb was
quite true of the Indian judicial system, but such thoughts gave way to
celebrations and a more positive outlook.
For this writer what was heartening about this whole episode
and its positive denouement was the role played by its young denizens. None of
this would have been possible if these youngsters had not organized themselves
and started a digital campaign to get their voices heard. Instead of lamenting
their lot and taking the exit route, they stood their ground and used the long
road of winning public opinion in their favor and putting pressure on an
administration which seemed intent to render them destitute. Their story is
told in this piece from Mumbai Mirror which is one tabloid which seems to be
doing a lot more for the Mumbaikars than
the entire political class!! From facilities at KEM Hospital which was putting lives of children at risk, pavements which were being encroached, pot holes that kill motorists, to women being molested in trains, it has been a never ending crusade for the journalists of this tabloid!!!
As one resident mentioned, “it was as if my son had grown up
overnight”. For these kids it has been a baptism by fire and the good thing is
that they seem to be the stronger for it. Steel is always forged in fire and
the grit they showed augurs well for all of us if it is something that most of
the youngsters of this country possess within themselves.
On this “children’s day I salute these youngsters and many
others like the one’s in Delhi and elsewhere who have learned not to accept the
status quo, but to protest and fight, not with guns or fists, but with their
intellect, skills and inner strength. I
had written the first article using the term the “condemned/ cursed” children,
but am more than proud and happy to give this the nomenclature of “The Capable Children of Campa Cola Compound”
Jai Hind.
