CHENNAI: The Marina Beach, which has for long been among the faces of this city, has in recent times become the nerve centre of protests and demonstrations by civil society groups. These days, it has become impossible to take a trip to the Marina Beach with your family on weekends without coming across a demonstration demanding a strong Lok Pal Bill to combat corruption in government.In a city where the police maintains a list of approved places where protests can be held, no place has turned out as popular as the Gandhi Statue on Marina Beach for the anti-corruption protests.Waves of demonstrators have found it convenient, both logistically and ideologically, to demand a clean-up of India’s political system from the stairs at the foot of the statue of the Father of the Nation.“Among the main reasons we keep going back there to protest is the statue of the Mahatma.After all, this movement has a very Gandhian face in Anna Hazare and we protest with the Mahatma’s blessing,” says Bhavana Upadhayaya, a volunteer with India Against Corruption, which has worked with other anti-corruption organisations during the protests.“The Marina Beach is perfect as far as the logistics of organising a demonstration, protest march or a human chain are concerned,” says Banu Kumar, Executive Director of 5th Pillar India. “It is also easy to get police permission for the protests here as there is ample space,” he adds.Inspiration from the Mahatma and permission from the police apart, the location has also helped various groups of demonstrators network with each other, as well as reach out to entire families during their weekend visit to the beach. This reporter was witness to a middle-class couple joining the protestors and raising slogan with their two daughters in tow on August 6.The beachfront protests have also turned out an opportunity for members of the public to enter the fray. “I saw a huge crowd of people raising slogans when I was on my evening walk. I thought it was just some political party pushing one of their usual, irrelevant demands. But when I walked by, I realised it was against corruption.So I joined them in the sloganeering,” says 76-year-old C Vijayaraghavan, a retired banker who lives nearby.Vijayaraghavan says he will take part in the protests wherever they take place in the city, now that he has met people who will keep him in the loop. “I was born before Independence, unlike a majority of those protesting for the Lok Pal Bill. I have seen Gandhiji in person, when he came to Madras once. It is really inspiring for me to protest under his watchful eyes,” adds Vijayaraghavan.
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