If responsible people in society take leave of their senses, the uncertain situation that prevails in the country would not merely continue, but would be exacerbated. However, it seems that there is no end to the petty politicking that takes place.
The emergency declared by the president has been criticized by various civil society actors, but the fact remains that the people cannot get on with their normal lives if disinformation and dysfunction becomes the norm. The public disaffection against the prevailing systems of governance would increase, if there is widespread breakdown of law and order in the country.
The emergency regulations were imposed in this context. The regulations were imposed earlier, but removed. That was a sign that these measures that were effective during wartime may not be as useful when there is an economic crisis of the type that we are facing now.
However, people are by and large hoping that there would be some level of consistency in decision making with regard to law and order and policy. When everything is in a state of flux, people want to feel that there is some semblance of dependability in the decision making process at the top.
By and large they feel that Parliament has not been upto the task of bringing some order out of chaos. There may be some who welcome emergency regulations in this context, while others decry such measures.
What is important is that the government ensures that there is at least a modicum of trust among people that the rulers are able to ensure that the country is able to function with some degree of normality. They are not expecting miracles.
But they have not seen normal times for a very long period — since perhaps the COVID related lockdowns. In this context they are not seeking absolute return to normal because they have been used in the past few years to disrupt. But there is a difference between total breakdown of systems, and the maintenance of regular law and order.
Public protests would go on, but they should happen within the context of having basic law and order prevail. If that is not ensured the protests become disruptions of civilian life.
That would not be tenable for the maintenance of order and the elementary desire to deliver the goods.
The people have endured much and are unable to stomach much more disruptions of their normal routines. Not a single person’s life has not been touched adversely as a result of recent economic troubles the country is experiencing. However, wealthier folk are as usual insulated from some of the major inconveniences that face the ordinary people.
For example, the three-wheeler drivers are not used to pumping full tanks of fuel because they run their vehicles on short hires and pump fuel as and when convenient, because they wait for fares to collect before they top up their tanks.
But this system does not work anymore because obtaining petrol at the pump is no longer an easy task. People are required to stay in long lines before they obtain their quota of fuel, and this skews all the calculations of three-wheeler drivers who make do on limited quantities of petrol that they are able to afford for the moment.
It is always the ordinary folk that seem to be effected badly by the extraordinary measures that are taken to ameliorate the situation. That is never truer in the context of the new economic realities.
Their travails cannot be added to by regular disruptions of civilian life. The protests that are happening are sometimes so organised that the ordinary people on whose behalf these protests are carried out are totally helpless against their repercussions.
This is not a reality that can be any longer tolerated by any government at the helm. Can anything be done about the current interruptions of civilian life without recourse to emergency regulations?
That can be done if the protestors are mindful of the problems of those whom they are protesting on behalf of. They need to ensure that the protest-organisers discuss with the ordinary daily wage workers how best they could avoid disrupting the normal routines of those engaged in pursuit of their livelihoods.
When buses don’t ply, how are people supposed to get about their business unless they have cars or can hire three-wheelers? Three-wheeler fares are prohibitive as well, and it is as if the people face obstacles no matter where they turn.
Their lives have to be more secure. There must be economic security, and a general sense of being able to function within the system no matter how badly the administration is stressed due to the current set of challenges facing the country. Lastly, the task of the Police and the Armed Forces is unenviable. Their job is to walk the tightrope, and make sure that people are able to get about their business while the freedom to show dissent is maintained in the community.
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