ABSTRACT
In 2005, Jana Sanskriti (JS) mobilised a roadblock which was held along the main highway from Kolkata to Ramganga, a village at the mouth of the Bay of Bengal. Protestors halted the traffi c of goods and people along the main artery of the local economy. Roadblocks are typically considered illegal by the government. The protests were signalling anger against liquor production in the region. Six men setting up posters and microphones for the protest were taken to the nearest police station even before the protest had offi cially begun. The microphone battery and glue were confi scated, posters and banners torn off the trees. But no one left the site. In fact, protestors poured in from neighbouring villages in the Pathar Pratima Block of South 24 Parganas district. They found a second battery and the protest raged on in the radiating heat of 38 degrees Celsius and what felt like 120 per cent humidity. The six young men returned in the afternoon, walked straight to the microphone and sang a JS song about collectively weathering every storm.
