Is throwing ink on the faces a right way of showing resentment?

By Harish Monga

The person, whose feelings have been hurt with anybody’s action or statement, can go to any extent from pelting stones to throwing ink but don’t have intention to kill.

We write for others and to keep it as a record otherwise there is no necessity to write. Gone are the days when ink involved us in a relationship with the written word which is sensuous, immediate and individual. It opens our personality out to the world, and gives us a means of reading other people.

Hensher is a British author, a popular columnist for The Independent and an arts critic for The Spectator. In his latest book “The Missing Ink”, he enlivens his musings about penmanship's demise with sharp insights and wry wit. Hensher has also listed how ink has long occupied a strong symbolism in literature.

However, its use in violent political protests must be an Indian invention entirely.

Recently, we have seen anger in Punjab over the desecration of a ‘Bir’ of the Guru Granth Sahib and the entire nation has proliferated social media, usually accompanied with cringing images of the dead and injured. We go through our Facebook of What’sApp feed, looking for what to share, like, post or may create new hash (#) tag.

In the past, we have seen incidents of ink being thrown on political leaders including prominent figures, with an alarming frequency.

In January 2012, Yoga guru Ramdev had become the target of an ink attack. A man, identified as Kamran Siddiqui, threw black ink on his face at a press conference he was addressing on his plans to campaign against black money in the coming Assembly elections. Seated along with Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy at the Constitution Club in the heart of the capital, Ramdev's right eye was blackened with ink.

In November last year, a man, claiming to be a supporter of Anna Hazare and the BJP, had thrown black ink at Arvind Kejriwal during a press conference. Shouting 'Arvind Kejriwal Murdabad', Nachiketa, who claimed to be BJP general secretary of the Ahmednagar unit in Maharashtra, entered the venue and threw a can of ink on him. Some drops of the paint fell on Kejriwal's face.

People whose religious feelings have been hurt can go to the extent of pelting stones what to talk of throwing ink and in another case, angry protesters threw ink on Jammu and Kashmir Independent legislator Engineer Rashid in Delhi and

After a peaceful ride to Delhi in a Mercedes Benz, arrested Sahara Chairman Subrata Roy had to face an ink attack on Tuesday as he arrived at the Supreme Court. A man who identified himself as Manoj Sharma, a lawyer from Gwalior, managed to get close to Roy outside the apex court and threw black ink at him,

Frankly speaking, ink on your face is really a big disgrace and it is not the right way to show resentment. But making cautionary use paper masks to thwart such attacks on such occasions would not be a bad idea.

At the same time, on the thrower’s side, let us hope that a good sense prevails over them and they put the ink into its original use and write inn protest rather than indulge in such violent practices.

Since most of these incidents have occurred during press conferences or in court premises, making cautionary use of paper masks to thwart such attacks on such occasions would not be a bad idea. On the thrower's side, let us hope good sense prevails over them and they put the ink to its original use and write in protest rather than indulge in violent practices.