Chennai: “This is all I have,” says B. Kalpana, a fail, dark woman, clutching her yellow thread of thali. She was among the hundreds of women protesting for the closure of a Tasmac shop at Pallaku Manyam slum, Luz corner.
“He hits me in front of our children, when I don’t give him money for his drinking. I slog for more than 12 hours selling flowers door to door and at street corners. At the end of the day, he just snatches the money from me,” said Kalpana.
Thousands of Kalpanas have come to the streets fighting for a cause that has become vitally critical.
Homemakers, house maids and farmhands are now spontaneously participating in the anti-Tasmac agitations. “This is the first-of-its-kind revolution against Tasmac shops,” said Mylapore’s MLA and former IPS Officer Dr R. Natraj. “Though there were mass protests against illicit liquor manufacturing and sale, there were none against Tasmac shops. The long suffering of the women is the root cause for the ferocity of this state wide stir.”
“Cops cannot object a peaceful protestation. They should also ensure there is no damage to government property. Rather than using violence on vulnerable protesters, police should take proactive measures, before the stir intensifies,” he said.
Tipplers, on the other hand are least bothered about the protests. They feel they can buy booze through many means. “These protests are temporary. Even if all the wine shops are closed, we will find a way (in black) to get a bottle,” said C. Ravi, an auto driver.
Interpreting the mass protests, eminent anthropologist Prof M.A. Kalam of CK Prahlad Centre at the Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA) said, “Women, whose family and economical lives were affected, needed a trigger to come to the fore front. Just like in the case of jallikattu, social and electronic media has triggered the anti-liquor protests. Tasmac is a kind of a metaphor to show frustrations against the political instability in the state,” Prof Kalam said.
