Kerala’s Satyagraha Gate still alive with dissent, says veteran journalist

A veteran journalist revisiting Thiruvananthapuram found the iconic Satyagraha Gate outside the old Secretariat still bustling with protesters. On her recent visit, she met activist Mercy Alexander, a woman in her 60s from the fishing community now battling for women's rights, who had gone to jail over a sexual harassment case against a minister. ASHA workers were on strike on the pavement, demanding increased wages and backpay, with the protest continuing day and night.

The journalist recalled the gate's history as a site for hundreds of protesters over decades, from fisherfolk and teachers to headload workers and political dissidents. Successful past agitations include the 1980s campaign to cancel a hydroelectric project in Silent Valley to save the lion-tailed macaque, and a ban on trawler fishing to protect traditional fishermen. More recently, activists have protested the privatisation of the Vizhinjam port.

The journalist noted that while trade unions have faded with privatisation and the Gulf and tourism booms, the culture of satyagraha endures. The ASHA workers' strike, supported by politicians, remains orderly, with police on friendly terms with the dissenters.