{"id":18632,"date":"2012-04-16T12:00:26","date_gmt":"2012-04-16T11:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=18632"},"modified":"2012-11-03T16:59:33","modified_gmt":"2012-11-03T16:59:33","slug":"elections-long-over-in-koodankulam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2012\/04\/elections-long-over-in-koodankulam\/","title":{"rendered":"Elections Long Over in Koodankulam"},"content":{"rendered":"

In support of \u2018people of Koodakulam\u2019 whose voices and rights have been suppressed.<\/em><\/p>\n

Get off your Ambassadors
\nAnd Tata-truck podiums-
\nElections have long gone
\nAnd your lies well sold
\nTo ordinary people who
\nregard cotton sarees<\/em>, big red bindi’s<\/em>,
\nkhadi kurtas<\/em>, worn-off blue slippers and
\nmarigold flower garlands
\nAs symbols of the saviours-
\nThe ones who protect
\nAnd shield their people<\/p>\n

Stop the dance of democracy,
\nYou danced well while the others lost-
\nElections are over.
\nThousands and more stood in queues,
\nA number that to count needs
\nhundred others,
\nThey proudly had half-a-nail painted
\nin black ink
\nThat takes weeks to wipe off-
\nThe ink, the promise of your commitment
\nand service.<\/p>\n

Go back to the streets,
\nTo the people you begged for votes,
\nOne-a-day is beaten by your own men-
\nThe police-
\nGuardians of the laws,
\nRules that you and your friends sign
\nin the world’s biggest round building.<\/p>\n

Watch it with your own eyes,
\nAs guardians of the law violently force open
\nShop shutters,
\nOrder fishermen to kill more sea-life,
\nAnd use food, water and electricity
\nAs weapons against your own people-
\nPeople who voted for you,
\nYet day after day,
\nYou vote for their silent massacre-
\nAs they fast unto death,
\nLie down in punishing heat
\nAnd tremble for their call-
\nWhilst infants and children learn
\nWays of the world,
\nOne day, they
\ntoo will die, perhaps not on a satyagraha<\/em> fast,
\nbut in the backyard of a sleeping nuclear dinosaur.<\/p>\n

_________________________<\/p>\n

Published with permission from the author.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sumeet Grover:<\/em><\/p>\n

– Member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace, Development and Environment and of the TRANSCEND Art\u00a0& Peace Network<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

– Coordinator of Global Poetry<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

– A software engineer originally from India, based in the UK.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In support of \u2018people of Koodakulam\u2019 whose voices and rights have been suppressed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[198,182],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kudankulam-anti-nuclear-satyagraha-india","category-poetry-format"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18632\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}