Same protest, different playbook: How Jharkhand's 'code' is different from Delhi
"This is not Jantar Mantar, don't raise azaadi slogans," a youth is heard urging fellow student protesters in Jharkhand in a viral video. The message
"This is not Jantar Mantar, don't raise azaadi slogans," a youth is heard urging fellow student protesters in Jharkhand in a viral video. The message has captured the sharp difference between the two student-led movements. While the Gen Z stir at Delhi's Jantar Mantar was overshadowed by videos of students, some not even 18, using abusive language and the mingling of political leaders, the youth in Jharkhand have taken a different route - no political slogans, no personal attacks and certainly no abusive language. Read Full Story Over the past two weeks, hundreds of youngsters have gathered in the capital, Ranchi, to protest against malpractices in government exams. At the heart of the protest are alleged irregularities in the JPSC recruitment process. With the agitation swelling by the day, the Hemant Soren government opened a dialogue with the students on Thursday. Such 'code of conduct' posters have sprung up around the Ranchi protest site HOW JHARKHAND STUDENT PROTESTS ARE DIFFERENT The protesters in Ranchi, however, are keen on keeping the focus on their core demands and preventing the stir from being hijacked by political forces. In fact, several images have gone viral on social media of a 'code of conduct' being pasted at multiple locations around the protest site at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium.
It is, however, not known whether the protest organisers put up the guidelines. It urges the protesting youth to avoid raising political slogans and making religious or caste-based statements. It also asks the students to desist from using abusive or offensive language or making any allegations against political leaders from the stage. "Keep your statements focused only on the core objectives of the movement. Our struggle is for systemic reform," the so-called code of conduct further says. A video of a young protester urging fellow students not to raise abusive slogans has also emerged on social media. "This is not Jantar Mantar," he says, while reminding the youth that a lot of effort has gone into organising the movement. "Hum log bohut mehnaat kar rahe hai (We have put in a lot of effort). No one will support anyone raising azaadi or religious or political slogans," the youth further says. It suggests that the organisers of the movement are determined to keep the protest issue-driven and prevent it from turning into a platform for political mudslinging or abuses. ABUSIVE SLOGANS RAISED AT JANTAR MANTAR The approach is a striking contrast to the scenes at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, where videos of students, some minors, abusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and even his late mother went viral.
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