Karnataka - Mysore   

Cutting across religious barriers

Special Correspondent

MYSORE: It was a rally with a difference for various reasons. For, rarely do religious leaders take to the streets and stage a dharna as witnessed here on Tuesday.

The issue was the Cauvery and having closely observed the developments in the region for the past two weeks, seers and religious leaders, came together to form a consortium and took the plunge.

While there may be differences in their religious practices and beliefs, there was no difference of opinion among the seers on this secular issue.

They came together in a show of solidarity not witnessed before.

Silent march

The seers who led the rally were followed by thousands of people, a majority of them students, and there was no shouting of slogans as is common during such occasions. However, there were placards and the seers made it clear before they began the march that all that had to be conveyed was expressed in the placards and hence no slogan- shouting was needed.

The placards carried by the students had more than 35 catchy slogans, most of which underlined the importance of peace and non-violence during the course of the agitation and brought home the key demands of the State.

A few placards did reinforce a point that has been lost in the din and noise of the agitation: that the dispute involves people of two States who are above all Indians, and stressed the need to share water resources equitably.

Politicians, generally, see the ubiquitous "foreign hand" when crisis hits them. But the rally did see a large presence of foreigners. Initially, people were surprised by the sheer size of their presence. But subsequently, it dawned upon them that most of the seers have among their followers a lot of foreigners who took to the streets following the footsteps of their masters.

Hyde Park of Mysore

A well-known landmark in London is the Hyde Park where all activists are free to air their views and it is reckoned to be a favourite place for mass demonstrations.

The K.R. Circle in the city has over the years assumed a similar colour and no demonstration is complete or can be declared a "success" unless the activists converge at the Circle.

What is more, a permanent slot has been earmarked near the cycle stand for the protesters to stage a dharna.

The ongoing Cauvery agitation has once again established that K.R. Circle in the heart of the city is the place to demonstrate if one has to grab public attention.

Signature campaign

For the thousands of students, an unusually large banner was enough to draw their curiosity.

The more innovative among them put their signatures on the banner. The others soon joined and within minutes, the banner turned into a petition carrying the signatures of thousands of people.

As an onlooker suggested, it would be a good idea to send the banner to the Government as a strong expression of public sentiment on the Cauvery issue.

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