‘Hume jo milta nahin, hum vo chheen lete hain’. (What I don’t get, I snatch.) Thus spake Amitabh in one of those Seventies blockbusters. Drawing inspiration from the Angry Young Bachchan were our seniors in college. I, an outstation student, along with other resident students,blessed with neither car nor bike nor with pocket money enough to travel in autos and taxis, were left with no other option but to travel by bus. The most dreadful moment in the bus is when the conductor approaches and asks (in his Haryanvi or Jat accent), “Kitthe jara hai?” (Where are you going?). For in that fateful moment, one has to part with his or her precious two, five or ten-rupee note.
I was new to Delhi and when the conductor asked for the ticket fare, I was quite amazed at the manner with which the students warded him off by proclaiming themselves as ‘staff’.
The moment the conductor heard the five-letter word, his gaze turned into a mixed expression of disgust, resentment and annoyance as he moved on.
Later on, I came to know about the power invested in the word ‘staff’. It refers to ‘Delhi University College Staff’, which is warranted by the college identity card meant to be shown at the college gate for entry. Instead, it was used as a free bus pass by most DU students. This has come into widespread practice with the introduction of the private bus services in 1992-93 as their conductors (unlike DTC bus conductors) are bullied by the students.
Initially, when the students evaded bus tickets, the buses quit stopping at college bus stands. This somewhat challenged the might of college students. So, in order to teach the conductors a lesson and re-establish their control, they resorted to violence with the belief that it’s the right of the students to be entitled to rebates and subsidies, and if the government doesn’t voluntarily grant this to them, then they’ll have to get it ‘in their own way’. So they tracked down the numbers and arrival times of the ‘erring’ buses.
{{/usCountry}}Initially, when the students evaded bus tickets, the buses quit stopping at college bus stands. This somewhat challenged the might of college students. So, in order to teach the conductors a lesson and re-establish their control, they resorted to violence with the belief that it’s the right of the students to be entitled to rebates and subsidies, and if the government doesn’t voluntarily grant this to them, then they’ll have to get it ‘in their own way’. So they tracked down the numbers and arrival times of the ‘erring’ buses.
{{/usCountry}}These buses were made to stop by the students armed with hockey sticks and bats and stones, the passengers forced to disembark, the driver and conductor beaten black and blue, and the bus burnt to ashes.
Such outbursts conducted in the name of ‘rights’ of the ‘under-privileged’ has led to the system becoming subservient to muscle power. And the DTC, groaning under an annual loss of Rs 25,000 crore, continues without any action taken against these students.
I remember a graffito scribbled on the wall of a 511 bus: “Using ‘staff’ in buses is equivalent to begging. Travelling without ticket is a punishable offence and may result in Rs 100 fine or one month’s imprisonment.” Wonder who that sign was meant for?