IT was deja vu with a change in the denouement. When newspaper and private TV network offices in Bangalore were tipped off on the night of October 1 that the following morning a pro-Kannada, pro-people youth organisation would lay siege to the premises of Pizza Hutthe holding company of which is Pepsico Restaurant International, India (PRII)it sparked off fears that violent events would repeat themselves. Eight months ago, on the death anniversary of the Mahatma, activists of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, a farmers association, had ransacked Kentucky Fried Chicken causing considerable damage to the restaurant and to Bangalores image as a yuppy haven for TNCs.
Mahatma Gandhis birth anniversary, however, proved luckier for the PRII. Over 40 protesters belonging to the local youth organisation, Akhila Karnataka Yuva Paris-had (AKYP), tried to break into the three-month-old restaurant in protest against the entry of TNCs in the food sector. But the activists could not get beyond raising slogans against fast food outlets and Prime Minister Deve Gowdafor having allowed the outlets to set up shop as Karnataka chief minister. A posse of policemen stationed outside Pizza Hut, and plainclothesmen inside, foiled the activists attempt to enter. The protesters were arrested before they could damage the restaurant that had cost the PRII Rs. 1.5 crore to set up.
The protest against Pizza Hut, according to AKYP president R.A. Prasad, is to warn TNCs against looting India in the name of patenting. "Pizza Hut, with its poisonous meat, is a black mark in a country where Gandhiji fought for retaining swadeshi goods. TNCs have come to India to sow the seeds of extravagant western culture and ruin the future of Indians," says Prasad. The argument runs on the same xenophobic lines as that of the KRRS, which alleges that Indias cattle is being wiped out due to the proliferation of meat-serving fast-food restaurants such as KFC. But, unlike the KRRS, which launched and has been in the forefront of Karnatakas anti-TNC movement, the AKYP is a fringe organisation known to indulge in publicity-seeking activities.
"Sometime back, they had written to TNCs such as Pepsico to advertise on hoardings only in Kannada, failing which they threatened to destroy the hoardings," says Bangalore City Police Commissioner S.C. Burman. KRRS president M.D. Nanjundaswamy admits that elements like the AKYP cannot be kept out of such agitations. Says he: "The plan to lay siege to Pizza Hut was probably leaked out so the activists could make news. However, such things are part of a large movement like the one were spearheading to oppose TNCs. It takes time for the movement to crystallise. It wont happen overnight."
Senior PRII executives have, however, refused to react to the AKYP attack on Pizza Hut and have not even contacted the city police following the incident. A PRII spokesperson told Outlook on condition of anonymity that the companys reaction to demonstrations may only lead to more controversy. Says he: "All the issues raised by those opposed to KFC and Pizza Hut have been addressed in the past and there is no point in reacting to the latest attack. The intolerance of such organisations is based on ignorance and cannot be helped." Adds Burman: "Though I wont spell it out, the objective of such protests is clear. I dont think these organisations are of any consequence. " Burman says that though it isnt possible to provide round-the-clock security to Pizza Hut despite the latest incident, there certainly will be unobtrusive plainclothes policemen watching the restaurant.
Elsewhere though, Burmans force can hardly remain unobtrusive as the city has been witness to protests almost every second day against the Miss World pageant. Street-corner outfits, unseen and unheard of before, have been taking out marches through the city and holding coordination meetings to chalk out plans to stop the pageant. Two days after the AKYP protest against Pizza Hut, Nanjundaswamy asked one such meeting of womens organisations to set fire to the Chinnaswamy Stadiumvenue of the pageants finalsto stop the event instead of immolating themselves. But Burman puts on a brave face: "I dont think these organisations are capable of the kind of violence they are threatening." That is a point which will become clear in the weeks to come. However, the sheer number of recent demonstrations in Bangalore have certainly raised doubts about the citys cosmopolitan tolerance.
