Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government and its police force have not faced a public challenge as huge and complicated as this Jallikattu protest. There are three main factors for this—there is no identifiable leadership among the protesters to negotiate with; there are multiple protest sites and they are expanding by the day; and, the police must deal with the protesters with kid gloves considering that they are mostly students and the slightest khakhi provocation could cause havoc.
“My head is spinning looking at this hugely complicated situation; we have over 75,000 protesters here now and we have over 75,000 leaders. Who do we talk to? One redeeming factor is that they are orderly and self-disciplining. It is gratifying, but then, we are worried how long this patience will last”, said a senior police officer on a long haul at the Marina on Thursday. Lowering his voice, he added, “The youth did one great thing—they kept the politicians away. If the political parties had crept in, that would have been chaotic. Please don’t quote me”. He was at the Marina after a quick trip home “for a birdie-bath and a lunch-dinner combo”.
True, there are some voices louder than the others and some faces that stand out sterner than the rest; but then, none has come forward to claim leadership. “Perhaps that is the success of this mass protest. Everyone is owning equal stakes and no one is complaining”, said a woman participant. “Another complicating factor is the present political situation, which is a bit too hazy for comfort after the demise of madam (Jayalalithaa)”, said another officer at the Marina. His contention was that Jayalalithaa might have handled the situation in a firmer manner, though he expressed “all admiration” for the “measured steps” being taken by her successor at the Fort St.George.
Police officers indicated that they are aware that some outfits had been trying to lure youngsters to the Marina using social media networking sites and WhatsApp groups. “But there is no single leader with whom we can open negotiations”, said an officer, who however admitted that the moment a workable political decision evolves within the next day or two, it would be easier to convinced the congregations to get back to the campuses and classes.
