Opinion | Kerala Held Hostage: The Politics Of Shutdowns

The real measure of political maturity is not how efficiently one can paralyse a state, but how well one can negotiate justice without holding society hostage

The nationwide strike announced by the trade unions generally went off without incident across the country on February 12.

Although many trade unions and labourers participated in the strike, it had no major impact on normal life in most of the states. Two states, however, were particularly affected by the shutdown: Odisha and Kerala. In Odisha, in addition to the nationwide strike, a few unions had called for a 12-hour bandh, which was supported by the opposition. This affected Odisha. This was to be expected, given the additional 12-hour bandh.

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The second state that was affected by the shutdown was Kerala. There was no bandh or hartal in addition to the shutdown in Kerala. The unions and the leftist factions knew well that announcing a shutdown with the support of leftist parties would bring life to a standstill in the state. In fact, Elamaram Kareem, a trade unionist and CPI(M) leader in the state, had boasted the day before the shutdown that they would bring the state to a standstill and that the shutdown would be a huge success in Kerala.

Kerala has long been notorious for such shutdowns. Before the mid-1990s, bandhs and the commotion they caused were widespread in the state. Most people opposed the idea of a total shutdown enforced by party thugs, but had little choice. The menace became so severe that, in 1997, a full bench of the Kerala High Court banned bandhs in the state, declaring them “illegal and unconstitutional". This brought relief, but only temporarily. Soon, hartals were announced, which in practice often amounted to total shutdowns, effectively bandhs under another name. Political parties, and even organisations with very little public........

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