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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Rallies across state back CJP

Several protesters gathered at Dadar, Mumbai, on Monday in support of CJP's Delhi protest. Pic: Bhushan Koyande Mumbai: Endorsing the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)’s massive agitation near the Parliament in New Delhi, lakhs of youth, students and social organizations took to the streets with angry protests, marches and demonstrations almost all over Maharashtra on Monday. Opposition parties in the state including the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and...

Rallies across state back CJP

Several protesters gathered at Dadar, Mumbai, on Monday in support of CJP's Delhi protest. Pic: Bhushan Koyande Mumbai: Endorsing the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)’s massive agitation near the Parliament in New Delhi, lakhs of youth, students and social organizations took to the streets with angry protests, marches and demonstrations almost all over Maharashtra on Monday. Opposition parties in the state including the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena (UBT), along with other smaller outfits either voluntarily joined the protestors or wholeheartedly supported them. The political parties expressed full solidarity with the CJP, flayed the forced hospitalization of environment activist Sonam Wangchuk and expressed anger at the purported undermining of major public examinations beset with multiple leaks of question papers in recent years. The demonstrations attracted thousands of collegians, unemployed youngsters, professionals like lawyers, social activists, civil society members, farmers and others, including a large number of women, as the local police deployed strict security to prevent any untoward incidents. The protestors, carrying banners, placards, the National Tricolour and in some places, copies of the Constitution marched or assembled at various central locations in different cities, including Dadar in Mumbai, respective district headquarters since morning, braving showers or heavy rains in many areas. They ranted anti-government slogans, vociferously demanded the resignation of the Union Education Minister of India Dharmendra Pradhan, seeking what they termed as ‘accountability by those holding public offices’, ‘transparency’, ‘safeguarding their democratic rights’ and ‘mutual dialogue’ to resolve such contentious issues. In some districts, the gatherings also condemned the forcible eviction of Wangchuk to a government hospital two days ago, and lashed out the Delhi Police for lobbing teargas shells and mild lathi-charge on the protestors who reached very close to the Parliament – where the Monsoon Session 2026 opened on Monday. Constitutional Rights Speakers at the venues accused the government of allegedly suppressing the Constitutional right to peaceful protests through high-handed means, warning it could deepen public resentment rather than solving the problems the masses raised. Though the emotionally-charged protests in the state remained largely disciplined and peaceful, in some places like Mumbai, a few demonstrators were detained in the afternoon for not adhering to police directives. In Mumbai, the participants included mostly students, young professionals, retired citizens and civil society groups, while the district-level rallies elsewhere drew significant presence of the local youth, farmers organisations and social activists. The vigorous campaigns were carried out in the capital Mumbai and second capital Nagpur, besides Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Pune, Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nandurbar, Dhule, Jalgaon, Akola, Amravati, Dhule, Ahilyanagar, Solapur, Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Beed, Latur, Dharashiv, Jalna, Nanded, Parbhani, Hingoli, Wardha, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Gondia, Bhandara, Washim, Yavatmal and Buldhana. Thackeray slams Centre Ex-Chief Minister and SS (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray took potshots at the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government saying “they can hold talks with Pakistan, but not our youth”. His party MP Sanjay Raut alleged that ‘one word’ by a top judge had sparked a nationwide unrest for the past two months, igniting the youth to question the BJP governments at the Centre and in states. Many irate youngsters told the media that the exam reforms centric campaign has now transformed into a broader nationwide movement for debates on civil liberties, dissent and democratic rights of the citizens, and they would continue till their aims are achieved. Hundreds gather in Nagpur to support CJP Hundreds of students, youth and senior citizens staged an agitation in Nagpur on Monday in support of activist Sonam Wangchuk and the Cockroach Janta Party's protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation. Chanting anti-government slogans over alleged exam paper leaks, angry demonstrators, including students and senior citizens, gathered at Samvidhan Square and vowed to press ahead with their agitation until the education minister steps down. Protesters expressed outrage over the forcible removal of Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar in the national capital and the lathi-charge on students during their march to Parliament. Holding placards, banners and photos of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, demonstrators gathered at the site amid heavy police deployment. One of the young demonstrators said that their agitation will continue till the education minister resigns.

From Wheel to Window Seat: The Surprising Perks of Public Transit

Updated: Oct 30, 2024

Public Transit

Seven years ago, I migrated to the city of dreams and settled down in Thane. After traveling regularly to south Mumbai for an initial period, since last one year I had been driving my XUV700 to the Kandivali office of Mahindra & Mahindra Limited. While my car, renowned for its smooth drive, helped me cover the distance, the relentless traffic and poor road conditions slowly eroded the pleasure—and even began to impact my health. The city’s inadequate road infrastructure, compounded by sluggish Metro construction, has been a glaring problem for years, with improvements seeming to rest on road developments from the era of Nitin Gadkari over two decades ago.


In the last several years, several startups have introduced business models that provide comfortable commuting solutions and have gained popularity amongst the daily office commuters. Compared to cab-aggregator services like Ola or Uber, these solutions are less expensive and more comfortable. I have been travelling through Cityflo bus service for the past one month to avoid traffic hassles. This realignment was done to overcome the extra fatigue and was not a calculated call much thought about. Surprisingly this change turned out to be a blessing in disguise to me.


Travelling by bus has added to my daily travel time and I had to realign my morning routine to ensure that I start early by at least 15 minutes to catch the bus. It was never an easy task for me as it demanded efficient time management. Further I did not want to compromise on my vital morning rituals like my physical workout, newspaper read and daily puja.


My first two travel days were altogether boring as I had no task to keep myself engaged while traveling. My inability to read the financial daily Business Standard was long haunting me. Suddenly I realized that I have created a sweet spot for myself to fulfill this task. Within a couple of days, occupying my seat and reading Business Standard became my standard protocol during my office travel.


This has facilitated increased academic awareness and enhanced engagements in office discussions on contemporary topics. This routine has helped me reframe my travel time into a valued pocket for learning and reflection. By nightfall, I trade the reading light for audio content, engaging with scholars like Dr. Vikram Sampath and J. Sai Deepak, or enjoying the music of legends like Lata Mangeshkar and Pt. Hari Prasad Chourasia. The adjustment has transformed my commute into a restorative experience, and my family has also noted the positive change.


All these days I struggled to find quality time to pursue my interests, but public transportation ensured that I was left with a couple of hours each day for my own well-being. Assuming that on a third of the occasions I still opt to drive, this still translates into 40 productive working man-days on an annualized basis, which would facilitate productive engagement to pursue my own interests.


That reminds me of a famous quote by Colombian President Gustavo Petro that “a developed country is not a place where the poor own cars, but where the rich people use public transport.” I am not sure what had prompted him to say so, but there is certainly an essence in what he has quoted. Developed countries are not just functions of higher Per Capita Income. Productive usage of resources, efficient time management by all the stakeholders, and higher happiness index of the common citizens go a long way in transforming the country into a developed nation. Effective time management and pursuit of personal passion play a key role in transforming individuals into an impactful performer. Reliable public infrastructure and efficient transportation also contribute to environmental sustainability. Altogether these changes, improve the quality of life, and result in enhanced economic power of the country. I unexpectedly realized that by opting to travel by public transportation, I am contributing towards the development of India.


(The author is a Chartered Accountant and works at Automotive Division of Mahindra and Mahindra Limited. Views personal.)

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