Hartals are a novel way to protest. Or they have been. But these days hartals are quite frequent and some turn into great success not because of the greatness of their purpose but due to the fear factor the call of a shutdown succeeds to induce in the minds of people.

Irrespective of whether you support the cause or not, you are expected to sit at home to safeguard your life and property during hartals. The freedom of choice doesn’t seem to exist here. This badly affects daily life. The elements unleashing violence on the streets show no mercy to even emergency hospital cases. They show no discrimination. The victims of the hartals are from all age, gender, sex, religion,caste, creed and nationality. To experience the chaos you just need to be at the right place at the right time.

For the first time in Kerala history, on January 3, several traders dared to open their shops as their way of retaliating against the frequent menace. The Ernakulam District Collector K Mohammed Y Safirulla even announced protection for traders.

It is true that the anti-hartal sentiments are gaining root in the state as public realise the impact it has on the economy, but the fear of hartal is yet to leave the minds of the people. An employee with a private financial institution said that he and his colleagues tried to open the office in the morning but had to shut down immediately and run as the hartal supporters marched on to the street.

The protection and reaction are however limited to the business sector so far. Nobody seems to be bothered about the educational scenario of the state. Every hartal directly hits the students of the state. With the heavy rains and floods that occurred in the state, many classes were lost already in this academic year. The latest Kerala hartal forced the Mahathma Gandhi University to postpone for the second time the third semester examinations of post-graduate students. Similar is the case with other universities across Kerala. Many students who leave the state to complete their higher education point out that these kinds of delay force them to move out of Kerala to save their precious time.

Even if such protection is assured for educational institutions as to the business hubs they will not be able to function. Without the efficient functioning of the transport system on a hartal day things are tough. Even then will the parents send their kids to school? Will the college students walk in fearlessly through the gates of their campuses to claim their right to get educated? It is the fear that needs to be eradicated first.

Teachers in colleges and schools are right now worried about completing the pending syllabus. The upcoming Lok Sabha elections also demand wrapping up this academic year faster. In the midst of the petty political games the future of next generation is wrecked. It is strange how the same people who sympathise for the education of children in terror-hit areas of the world turn a blind eye at the student community in Kerala. Here too the future of young students are compromised over religious issues.