Gwalior, only three and a half hours from New Delhi on the Bhopal New Delhi Shatabdi Express train, 12002. That is unless it has been cancelled. Having secured a seat last week in this chair class aircon train, trouble arose in the Capital.
For the past week the trouble has been escalating. It is concentrated in the State of Haryana, where Delhi is located, but outside of the city itself. The situation has been brewing for some time based in a University that has spread to many Universities through student unions. The papers are filled with stories though none of them clarify for me the base situation. The closest I can come is there is a question of quotas for backward castes that needs to be addressed. There have also been recent suicides over allegations of students cheating in exams, preferential treatment for those that can afford and nepotism. This seems to have reached the lofty heights of terrorism though it has been a media based hype.
There are so many twentyfour hour news channels now in India all competing for the 'scoop'. In this instance unverified footage was broadcast, which may have been doctored, raising tensions even higher about student shouting slogans at rallies. The central figure, the leader of the Uni's student union, came out of hiding Sunday and addressed the gathered crowd. In reading, it is an interesting article which talks about the role media have played in the escalation. The student union leader said he learned much about himself recently through the media and didn't realise that he had ' visited Pakistan twice recently, not having a passport'. He was called the 'Mastermind' rallying seventeen Universities behind him and accused of making eight hundred phone calls, unsubstatiated, including to The Gulf and Kashmir ( which has recently had several terrorist based military deaths during clashes ). The student relates that he has been reduced to his immediate identity, that of Muslim saying that ' for the past seven years , when I've engaged in politics on campus, I haven't thought of myself as a Muslim , I have never projected myself as a Muslim ... For the first time in seven years I have become conscious of being a Muslim, in the past ten days. They are calling me a Pakastani agent anyway.' He came out of hiding when he became fearful for his family who have been receiving death threats with his sister threatened with rape.
It is easy to rile up the population in India. A secular democracy still very divided between Hindus, Moslems and others. Find a niche to exploit and the media, politicians and the courts seems to get on board for full political advantage. This lead to protests in the universities with students and teachers and then in the community further afield. Roads were blocked for days and hundreds of trains cancelled leaving many people stranded. Like all good capitalists, advantage has been taken, with reports of airlines gouging the price of flights, some up to five times or more the normal fare. Hotels have been doing the same.
Other political groups are riding the unrest, pushing their agenda, and have became quite militant. There have been nineteen deaths so far. The roads blocked, reports say, thousands of trucks line the roads along with other vehicles caught in the traffic. Protestors tried to dislodge rail tracks, interfere with signals and block rail lines into and out of Delhi. The main source of Delhi's water was hijacked and parts of the Capital ran out of tap water with carriers bringing water to people. This also affected the area I was staying in but fortunately the hotel tanks were full. Not so for some of the residents who lined up in the streets on Sunday and yesterday morning with buckets or anything else that could hold water. The military were airlifted into the militant protest areas once this started. The protestors moved from one section and disrupted another. A call for rest was agreed overnight with protestors giving the Government one month to rectify the claims laid at them.
On checking my PNR status on the official Indian Railways website for today's journey, my train was cancelled. Another search of cancelled trains, bringing me to the same website, stated it was not. With nothing to lose I decided to go to the station arriving at 5.40am, twenty minutes before departure. The train was waiting at Platform number 1. I am seated in C2 carriage, seat ten, window seat, with three other passengers only. There are more attendants and inspectors for the carriage than passengers. Whilst it provides a comfortable journey, where I can spread over three seats, it does lead to forced attention. First I received all the possible English newspapers to read with a bottle of drinking water. My preference is the Times of India. Instead of bringing me a thermos and tea bag, the attendant made chai without sugar. Then lime water was distributed before breakfast. There is a choice of veg or non veg but equally more choice within these categories. I opt for the veg cutlets, potato based patties with some carrots in the mix, accompanied by shelled peas, fresh, plus four french fries, tomato sauce, two slices of brown bread and butter. The carriage is over catered. I am offered second and thirds. 'No thanks', was not being accepted. I do accept another chai though.
There are only a few stops on this journey. The longest is Agra. We pull in at 8.20am. It is a five minute stop. This is the train caught by those visiting Agra in one day. The return train is late in the evening giving a whole day in the city.
There are now only two of us in the carriage for remainder of the journey. The train arrives at Gwalior Junction only fifteen minutes late.
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