Bandh has become a bad word of Indian politics. The awareness of the destructive and wasteful aspects of bandhs has been driven by the judiciary, which has rightly seen a bandh as a coercive instrument that infringes on the freedom of individuals. The mood of the people has also changed ? or more precisely, is changing ? to hostility towards bandhs. Even the Left Front government in West Bengal, led by the chief minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, has spoken out against them. But Mr Bhattacharjee?s comrades in Kerala have run out on their luck. The Kerala government has asked leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to pay a compensation of Rs 3 lakh for the destruction of public property during the 13 strikes called since the Congress-led government was elected to power in 2001. The amount is a token since the estimated loss for the Kerala government is around Rs 11 crores. But what is important is the stand taken by the government in Kerala. It is easy to mock at the decision as a political move by the Congress-led government. But the move is significant since it points to the growing awareness of the negative impact that bandhs have on public life.

The decision of the Kerala government also highlights the CPI(M)?s schizophrenia on bandhs. In West Bengal, where the CPI(M) leads a coalition in power, CPI(M) leaders speak out against bandhs and the damage they cause to productivity and work culture. But in Kerala, where the CPI(M) leads a political formation which is not in power, it is actively involved in promoting and organizing bandhs. In Kerala, it acts against a Supreme Court order that declared bandhs to be illegal. The confusion within the CPI(M) is further illustrated by the inability of some of its West Bengal leaders to distinguish between bandhs and industrial action. A bandh affects the whole of society including those members of society who are not in favour of it or the political party calling the bandh. A bandh, by definition, is an act of terror perpetrated by a minority on the majority. A spontaneous bandh is an oxymoron. The verdict of the Supreme Court and the decision of the Kerala government only uphold this simple axiom. Political parties owing allegiance to democracy and accepting the premises of the Indian Constitution must learn to respect the freedom of others. Bandh is a bad word because it curtails freedom.