Opinion
Aragalaya and modes of discipline
by Susantha Hewa
The unprovoked attack on the campaigners at the two agitation sites, located at the Galle Face and in front of Temple Trees, on the 9th of May, questions the idea of discipline. Usually, discipline goes with order, regimentation, punctuality, neatness, compliance, hierarchy and any other ideas linked with conformity. The mob attack on the protesters and their response to the violence illustrates at least two modes of what is called ‘discipline’.
As far as the armed marauders are concerned, they seemed to have been propelled by a crude ‘discipline’ of sorts, apparently instilled by a good dose of rhetoric and alcohol, calculated to cause mayhem. It was a kind of ‘discipline’ drummed into a socially disempowered and politically enslaved crowd whose services could be made available at the bidding of their political lords. On the other hand, the protesters, who desisted from using counter violence, were ‘armed’ with another kind of ‘discipline’ which seems to be alien to our brutalized political culture. It was infused by refined notions diametrically opposed to the conventional notions and tools of discipline mentioned above; order, regimentation, punctuality etc.
The present regime, which had evinced a keen interest in creating a ‘disciplined society’, should feel terribly awkward by the show of dubious ‘discipline’ of none other than its supporters at the Galle Face Green. However, it can be happy that it has, quite unintentionally, prompted many progressive minded people to come to the streets asking the government, which had earned the indignation of the masses by taking all the wrong decisions to bring the country to the brink of ruin, to “go home” in an admirably disciplined manner. The discipline of this enlightened gathering at the Galle Face, as well as in front of Temple Trees, consisting of different layers of society where generation Z has been the most conspicuous and active, has been continually tested by the government all these weeks on different occasions when it used teargas and water cannons liberally on the young protesters. The goon attack on the 9th was the acid test of the discipline and resilience of an evolving generation of more refined sensibilities.
Obviously, the culture sprouting at the Galle Face has easily subverted the conventional baggage about what constitutes discipline. For example, the campaign challenges the notions of ‘leaders and followers’, hierarchy, compliance with rigid rules, set ideas about “vision and mission”, which are revered in the corporate world, formalities and etiquettes, homogeneity, consistency and a host of other concepts implying lack of flexibility and regimentation.
Obviously, the protest has had no leaders, many individuals and groups participating to ask for a decent society- a society in which one may see a drive for justice, equality of opportunities, respect not imposed by a power pyramid, freedom of expression, participatory politics, absence of corruption, tolerance of dissension, space for creativity, variety and spontaneity and empathy. Most importantly, the newly created space serves as an accommodative mechanism for the continuation of the struggle for a better society. The assertive but totally nonviolent response of the occupiers to the mob attack was a telling sign of this incipient culture of goodwill, which all sensitive citizens may wish to thrive on our land.
The quick reconstruction of the vandalized site with no show of rancour provides the society, which has long been forced to reconcile with violence, with a proactive model for countering cruelty and injustice. What’s more, the cultured reaction to wanton brutality is likely to further convince the cynics of the Galle Face campaign that it is more than a frivolous display of juvenile reaction to a serious political and economic issue. Further, it goes to show that its so called ‘carnival-like’ character belies a solid conceptual base, which has been belittled as being out of step with the entrenched views regarding fighting injustice, the dominant mode of resistance being macho type heroism witnessed in politics and celebrated in popular movies. Not many believe in more undemonstrative and nonviolent forms of resistance associated with the likes of Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. or Mandela.
The backlash triggered by the goon attack, which spread like wildfire across the country is most deplorable. However, it has shown, though in a most unfortunate manner, the people’s conditioned reaction to a wanton attack on innocent fellow citizens, which they perceived as politically incited. The Galle Face agitation site is not a microcosm of a society which has been enraged by deprivation, disillusionment and revulsion against a regime which has brought them unheard of misery. It will take time for the benign “Galle Face” culture to spread to wider society. Enduring discipline is not something which can be imposed from above by regulation and oppression. It would gradually come about by ushering in a more democratic society where people are freed from hunger, blatant corruption and all forms of injustice.