In yet another state sponsored police brutality atleast nine people died in a firing incident at Tamil Nadu on Tuesday. The incident took place when thousands of people, demanding permanent closure of a copper smelting plant in the port city of Tuticorin, went on a rampage. People have been protesting against the Sterlite plant for more than three months, blaming it for polluting groundwater. The protests intensified after reports that the group was seeking licence for expansion as the initial 25-year licence comes to an end. This brazen display of state power to crush the will of people is against the spirit of democracy.
If the citizens of Tuticorin do not want copper smelting plant in their city, the government should respect the sentiment and find ways to close the plant. In democracy will of the citizens is supreme and it has to be respected at all cost. The government of Tamil Nadu has miserably failed to respect the sentiments of its own people. They have allowed police to brutally massacre innocent people who were protesting against polluted industry. It is a black day in the history of Indian democracy. What happened at Tuticorin is a grim reminder that state can be ruthless while imposing its might and citizens need to join hand together to fight against tyrant governments.