Political parties are unsure of whether to co-opt or criticise an angry public and often find themselves caught on the wrong foot. The protesters on the streets of Delhi, bracing water cannons in the biting cold, rejected them, irrespective of the party. While academics and journalists study or try to bracket this new protester, perhaps the only thing that's clear is that when it comes to issues that hit home directly - health, safety, livelihood - whether its protests against nuclear plants and hazardous waste in Tamil Nadu or Maharashtra, whether against political and bureaucratic corruption or for justice and safety - the urban Indian is fast realising that politics is about much more than casting a vote and is slowly but surely making crucial linkages it needs to between what affects an individual and what affects a nation.
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