The wealthy use a complex scheme called a protest, involving money, lies, and deception, to pursue their selfish and malicious goals, including overthrowing democratically elected governments for regime change.
In democracy, the ballot, as opposed to the bullet, was thought to be a noble and peaceful alternative to bring about political change without bloodshed, generally transferring power from dictators to elected representatives. But, protest aside, the ballot was introduced as another weapon as lethal, or more so, than the bullet. Real rogues organize and control protests. Protests are organized by those dissatisfied with the outcome of the ballot and want to bring change through violent means. Protests are stated to be peaceful but soon turn violent and become a riot because it’s not easily possible to spot the culprit.
In modern India, decades before Indians gained the right to vote in elections, M.K. Gandhi brought a culture of monster meetings, calling them protests to pressure India’s then colonial authorities. Starting his experiments with the Champaran Satyagrah in April 1917, and then so many at so many places throughout the country, eventually leading to the deaths of so many of his followers. Usually, British authorities responded to Gandhi’s protests with violence despite the protesters’ adherence to nonviolence. The poor, starving souls could not afford to use violence against British guns.
But currently, given social media activism and judicial scrutiny of the authorities, in most cases, the protesters turn into violent mobs. They engage in violent acts, including attacking individuals and damaging public property. They do so in order that their voice not only be “heard” but “acted upon urgently” based on their demonstrated street strength, not purely on ballot count. They make authorities not bite but swallow the bullet forced down their throats by protesters who assume demonic powers when acting as part of a mindless crowd.
In India, all-expense-paid protesters are available at Jantar Mantar in Delhi and on university campuses throughout the country. Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Indian parliament, often leads such rallies and protests. It is well known that someone else prepares a script for him, and his party workers join the crowd.
Such acts, drawing on the street strength of a mob, are easier than winning a battle through the ballot. When they can’t win against wisdom based on merit in table talk, they show off muscle power on the roads. Money, lies, and deception are used in an elaborate con game in which powerful elites pretend to share common ground with the public – be it caste reservations, income inequality, or social legislation. Protests are a dynamic process sustained through multiple acts of show of strength and incremental victories.
Behind the layered leadership of such organized protests, very wealthy people are generously funding and investing in those monster meetings as a means to achieve their ends. And the common people, in their minds, mistakenly think they are participating in a just fight. They don’t realize that some ordinary folks would be injured and die in the stampede, and that they themselves, through taxes, would ultimately pay for the property damaged by the angry mobs.
The real monster behind the layered leadership of such protests always remains hidden. He takes cover behind a mob of sheep driven by passion. Someone did that recently in Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, and at the dawn of 2026, on January 3, in Venezuela. Venezuela, blessed with vast natural resources, may not be the last golden leaf to fall into the hands of robbers.
In the constant struggle between the right and the wrong, the wise and the wicked, neither the ballot based on headcount nor the muscle power of a street mob can provide a judicious and peaceful solution. The solution is the wisdom of words; what is right shall always remain right.
