Seeing red over Kerala CM’s ‘fear of the black ’
Melanophobia is the extreme fear of the colour black. Of late, Kerala seems to be reeling under a compulsive fear of this colour. Waving black flags at the powers that be and marches have been part and parcel of any protest since the revolutions and industrial actions of the 19th century. However, the past two weeks have seen increased intolerance towards any form of protest, especially those aimed at Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. This comes amidst an equally inexplicable expansion of his security cover as well. As usual, the common person bears the entire brunt of this senseless brouhaha. What with vehicular traffic being held up for hours, disruptive local travel bans, and, of course, the preventive custody of pre-identified troublemakers and history-sheeters—the entire political stage in the state has turned into one big farce.
The icing on the cake has been the blanket ban on using anything that is outwardly black in colour. Law enforcers have reportedly been preventing people from even donning black masks at functions attended by the chief minister. We have witnessed increased clashes between police officers and Opposition members attempting to wave black flags at ministers. Activists of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) even beat up Youth Congress demonstrators in front of the police in the southern coastal city of Kollam. Intelligence sources acknowledge receiving authentic tip-offs on possible moves by political opponents to kick up a storm, especially during visits or functions attended by high-level functionaries.
As the state’s chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan enjoys Z-plus security. His cavalcade comprises pilot and escort vehicles, a strike force of commandos, and at least 40 police officers. No one argues against providing adequate security cover to the CM, but not at the cost of troubling the very citizens he governs, wherein even their livelihoods are hampered almost daily. Equality is one of the cornerstones of democracy, and our Constitution guarantees equal treatment to everyone before the law. Freedom of movement of any citizen can be curtailed only when serious breaches in the security cover of those in power are anticipated. These disruptions must be the exception rather than the rule, and the powerful should not claim such interference as a matter of privilege. Such Big-Brother antics are indeed paradoxical for a Communist government.