Protests 'alter' poll behaviour, shift fringe voters' attitude, organize disconnected ones

By Kashif Khan*
Farmers and workers in India last month initiated a general strike that saw the participation of over 250 million people. Many have touted this as the biggest organized strike ever witnessed in human history. On November 26, millions of farmers and workers along with students, social organizations and opposition participated in "Bharat Bandh" against the Narendra Modi's contentious pro-corporate farm bills.
A month later, farmers are still occupying the nation's capital with the unwavering demand of repealing the farm bills. The ongoing struggle of Indian doctors against the government's decision of certifying certain ayurvedic surgeons highlights yet another protest being written in the history of India.
In December 2019, India witnessed protest against contentious Citizenship Amendment Act which broke rapidly across different parts of the country. Apart from protests against governments' decisions, people in India took to streets to demand action against serious lapses in civil order.
Indian doctor's went on strike in June 2019 demanding the intervention of government in an assault case in West Bengal and providing adequate security to medical professionals. India, a diverse country, has regular protests against various government's various policies in the past xx years.

What has changed?

But the response to general strikes in the era of Narendra Modi has an oddly repetitive quality to them. Protesting students have been called "tukde tukde gang", and political adversaries of ruling alliance advocating for liberal freedom have been called "khan market gang". Left-leaning academicians are being dubbed as "Urban Maoists", and dissenters against government policies are being dubbed as "Urban Naxals". Protesting women were dubbed as "Pakistani agents" during the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protest.
Ongoing farmers’ protests featured some of these components. Two weeks back, propaganda was doing the rounds on the internet that the Khalistanis or Sikh Separatists were politicizing the farmers protest. Painting peaceful protesting farmers as "Khalistanis" is an all too familiar tactic that has emerged out of government discrediting the protesters repeatedly and painting them as "misguided" and "anti-national".

Protests don't weaken any country's democracy but strengthen it. Those who chose protests as a tool are exercising their freedom to protest and demonstrating that they have faith in institutions of the nation for relief and redressal. What differentiates protests from being an anti-national one is non-violence, as the farmers' protests currently are. Farmers have left no stone unturned to ensure no harm or inconvenience to the people of NCR and authorities. Non-violence legitimizes protests.

Purpose of social movements

Social movements enable a needed dialogue between citizens and the state. Purpose of dialogue could be differing. Purpose of some dialogue might warrant immediate attention and redressal. Purpose of another dialogue may ask the government for affirmative actions or retrospective actions. Sometimes purpose may pertain to policies and reforms.

Farmers have left no stone unturned to ensure no harm or inconvenience to people of NCR and authorities. Non-violence legitimizes protests

Whether social movements are effective or not is another stream of discussion. But social movements and protests are important for a democracy. Citizens are demanding the removal of corrupt governments, better living standards, more freedom and rights. In 2019 alone, countries like India, Hong Kong, Spain, France, Colombia experienced widespread civil unrest.

Some civil unrest forced their leaders out eventually. Bolivian Socialist President Evo Morales accused of rigging the elections was forcedly replaced by Jeanine Anez on November 10, 2019 bowing to the pressure from demonstrators and the military. Sudan ousted President Omar al-Bashir in April 2019 over economic hardships being faced by the Sudanese. Large scale public demonstrations can topple governments and change leadership.
Dr Dharamvir Gandhi, a student-activist at the time of the Emergency, advocating the need to repeal farm laws and decriminalization of traditional drugs, believes that his struggle during his time at medical college of Amritsar to oppose the draconian state of Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi. He feels that peaceful protest is a right for every citizen and is an important element of democracy.
Even if we believe that voting is the most effective tool to produce change, there is still plenty of proof showing that protests alter voting behaviours and shift the attitudes of fringe voters and even organize disconnected voters. #BlackLivesMatter helped Biden and Trump mobilize votes and turn states in US General Election of November 2020.

Focal points

An extensive voter survey of 140,000 respondents conducted for the Associated Press by National Opinion Research Centre for the elections, revealed that almost nine out of ten voters considered protests over police violence and three out of four voters remarked apropos of protests while voting. One out of five voters considered protests to be the single most crucial factor while deciding at the ballot box.

In economics, we define focal points in multiple Nash Equilibriums as the artificial phenomenon that drives behaviour or actions to reach a more optimal Nash Equilibria. The artificial phenomenon is the concept used in game theory which helps us understand why some countries end up at sub-optimal equilibria even though there are more optimal equilibria.
The artificial phenomenon is essentially a social phenomenon. Social movements and protests can be considered as focal points. Therefore, the right to peaceful protest becomes necessary wherein the state fails to achieve the most optimal equilibria. Social movements are inextricably linked to policies and reforms. People exercise their right to peaceful protest not only because it is the right thing to do but because it sometimes ends up being the only effective tool at their disposal.
---
*Second-year PGP student, Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad

Comments

What Sister Nivedita understood about India that we have forgotten

By Harasankar Adhikari In the idea of a “Vikshit Bharat,” many real problems—hunger, poverty, ill health, unemployment, and joblessness—are increasingly overshadowed by the religious contest between Hindu and Muslim fundamentalisms. This contest is often sponsored and patronised by political parties across the spectrum, whether openly Hindutva-oriented, Islamist, partisan, or self-proclaimed secular.

Safety, pay and job security drive Urban Company gig workers’ protest in Gurugram

By A Representative Gig and platform service workers associated with Urban Company have stepped up their protest against what they describe as exploitative and unsafe working conditions, submitting a detailed Memorandum of Demands at the company’s Udyog Vihar office in Gurugram. The action is being seen as part of a wider and growing wave of dissatisfaction among gig workers across India, many of whom have resorted to demonstrations, app log-outs and strikes in recent months to press for fair pay, job security and basic labour protections.

India’s universities lag global standards, pushing students overseas: NITI Aayog study

By Rajiv Shah A new Government of India study, Internationalisation of Higher Education in India: Prospects, Potential, and Policy Recommendations , prepared by NITI Aayog , regrets that India’s lag in this sector is the direct result of “several systemic challenges such as inadequate infrastructure to provide quality education and deliver world-class research, weak industry–academia collaboration, and outdated curricula.”

The rise of the civilizational state: Prof. Pratap Bhanu Mehta warns of new authoritarianism

By A Representative Noted political theorist and public intellectual Professor Pratap Bhanu Mehta delivered a poignant reflection on the changing nature of the Indian state today, warning that the rise of a "civilizational state" poses a significant threat to the foundations of modern democracy and individual freedom. Delivering the Achyut Yagnik Memorial Lecture titled "The Idea of Civilization: Poison or Cure?" at the Ahmedabad Management Association, Mehta argued that India is currently witnessing a self-conscious political project that seeks to redefine the state not as a product of a modern constitution, but as an instrument of an ancient, authentic civilization.

Gig workers’ strike halts platforms, union submits demands to Labour Ministry

By A Representative India’s gig economy witnessed an partial disruption on December 31, 2025, as a large number of delivery workers, app-based service providers, and freelancers across the country participated in a nationwide strike called by the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU). The strike, which followed days of coordinated protests, shut down major platforms including Zomato , Swiggy , Blinkit , Zepto , Flipkart , and BigBasket in several areas.

Why experts say replacing MGNREGA could undo two decades of rural empowerment

By A Representative A group of scientists, academics, civil society organisations and field practitioners from India and abroad has issued an open letter urging the Union government to reconsider the repeal of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and to withdraw the newly enacted Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025. The letter, dated December 27, 2025, comes days after the VB–G RAM G Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 16 and subsequently approved by both Houses of Parliament, formally replacing the two-decade-old employment guarantee law.

From Kerala to Bangladesh: Lynching highlights deep social faultlines

By A Representative The recent incidents of mob lynching—one in Bangladesh involving a Hindu citizen and another in Kerala where a man was killed after being mistaken for a “Bangladeshi”—have sparked outrage and calls for accountability.

NYT: RSS 'infiltrates' institutions, 'drives' religious divide under Modi's leadership

By Jag Jivan A comprehensive New York Times investigation published on December 26, 2025, chronicles the rise of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) — characterized as a far-right Hindu nationalist organization — from a shadowy group founded in 1925 to the world's largest right-wing force, marking its centenary in 2025 with unprecedented influence and mainstream acceptance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi , who joined the RSS as a young boy and later became a full-time campaigner before being deputized to its political wing in the 1980s, delivered his strongest public tribute to the group in his August 2025 Independence Day address. Speaking from the Red Fort , he called the RSS a "giant river" with dozens of streams touching every aspect of Indian life, praising its "service, dedication, organization, and unmatched discipline." The report describes how the RSS has deeply infiltrated India's institutions — government, courts, police, media, and academia — ...

Reshaping welfare policy? G-RAM-G marks the end of rights-based rural employment

By Ram Puniyani With the Ram Janmabhoomi Rath Yatra, the BJP’s political strength began to grow. From then on, it started projecting itself as a “party with a difference.” Gradually, the party’s electoral success graph kept rising. However, many thinkers and writers did not find this particularly worrying at the time, as they saw little difference between the BJP and the ruling Congress. The BJP’s real face began to emerge when it became the principal party of the NDA led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It first came to power for two brief tenures—13 days and then 13 months—and subsequently governed for nearly six years with Vajpayee as Prime Minister. During this period, many of these writers began to understand that the BJP was indeed a “different kind” of party, as even then the process of undermining democratic values and norms had begun. During the first term of the UPA government, several schemes were implemented that were based on the concept of “rights.” These included the right...

Search This Blog