Creative Protests 1: The Power of Bangles

The power-distance between an individual and the state can be very large in India, often literally. It can take a long time to get an electricity connection.

One way, as women in India, to shame the government officials to pay attention to you is to storm into their office and make them wear bangles!

Hindu reports

"Angry over the erratic power supply in the district, Awasthi and her supporters Friday barged into the office of executive engineer R.S.Gautam and forced him and other officials there to wear bangles, police said."

Wear bangles! This brand of shaming is not unique to the subcontinent however. In Thailand, derelict policeman are forced to wear hot-pink armbands featuring "Hello Kitty,"

It's hard to say where to draw the line between "humiliation" and "soul force" as a motivating factor, but it's fair to say that from the medieval blacking of the face to Gandhi's "satyagraha"; communities in India have evolved colourful ways of registering protest.

Monkey Business

Our collective imagination created the Monkey God
 and therefore it comes as no surprise that we, the Indian people are capable of fearing The Monkey Man!

Mass hysteria ensued in New Delhi in 2001 when a "half-beast half-man" was said to be unleashing its wrath indiscriminately on innocent people. Reportedly, the entire eastern district police force of about 3,000 personnel was put on patrol to hunt down the creature. The Times of India said an industrial worker died on Sunday night in nearby Noida town when he jumped off a first-floor building after being awoken by cries the "monkey man" was attacking.



Like almost every other supernatural story in India, this was a false alarm.

Yet, a month later, CNN reported that:
" At least three people panicked and fell to their deaths from buildings during the two-week saga because they were convinced the attacker -- described varyingly as a monkey-like creature with metallic claws and a cat with tawny, glowing eyes -- was pursuing them.
...
At the height of the panic, vigilante groups armed with sticks patrolled the streets at night on the lookout for the creature and police announced a 50,000 rupee ($1,067) reward for information leading to its capture."


And this in a country where the nominal GDP per capita is about $950.

Imagine roaming the mean streets of Delhi looking for a Monkey Man! "What did you do today?" "I looked for a half-beast, half-man. Didn't find him. Will try again tomorrow."


Monkey Men, show up in other places as well. Apparently, the Indian Railways believe that by dressing up a man like a monkey and making him walk on all fours, real monkeys will be stymied in the efforts to steal food from train passengers! 

If you don't believe us, watch the video: