Went with a colleague to cover a protest against the Dow Chemical Company.
Dow is the parent company of Union Carbide, whose pesticide plant in Bhopal was responsible for the deaths of almost four thousand people in 1984.
Nearly 25 years on, 390 tonnes of toxic chemicals abandoned at the Union Carbide plant continue to pollute the ground water in the region and affects thousands residents of Bhopal who depend on it.
"To remind Dow of its responsibility to clean up the toxic contamination and pay for the consequent health damage," almost 150 men, women and children from Bhopal had come down to Delhi.
The plan was simple. Get off the bus. Walk into the Dow chemical building. Unfurl banners and posters. Shout slogans. Burn an effigy of Dow. Get on the bus and get back home.
Given the strong sentiments and the involvement of a big multinational, we were expecting a heavy police presence and a serious attempt to hold back the protestors.
But things are different now. Dow is miles away from central Delhi, in a quiet little corner of Noida (part of Delhi National Capital Region). There are no obvious signs leading you to their building and it took us quite an effort to finally get there.
Not for the protestors. They knew precisely where the building was, which floor the Dow Chemicals office was and were well-versed with the drill. They told the security guards that they were there for a meeting. Once in, they took out the cardboard banners and shouted for Dow to 'Quit India'.
An enterprising protestor had even brought in an effigy, which was duly set on fire.
"Uncle mazaa aa gaya (Uncle., it was fun)," one of the young kids remarked when he got out of the building.
Some of the others also showed the adrenaline rush that their quick protest had generated. Luckily for them, both APTN and BBC were there to cover their protest - even if the Dow Chemicals officials or policemen weren't.
On the way back, we got into a more serious protest. This time, it was thousands of sugarcane farmers from the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh, protesting against the new pricing and procurement policy of the Indian government.
These guys were closer to central Delhi and close to the Indian Parliament. Needless to add, there were many more cops on the streets keeping these protesters under control.
They were having a fun day out as well, enjoying the banter with those caught up in traffic jams that their slow movement had created. Some were holding a single sugarcane to remind people why they were out on the streets.
It took us nearly 30 minutes to cover a distance of two kilometres. We eventually decided to walk the last 300 metres on the foot as there was no way the car would have moved anywhere.
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