Authoritarianism and neoliberalism have become strange bedfellows in our time. One cannot stand dissent, and the other sees an opportunity to profit from it. As an example of this strange union, we have the government of Chhattisgarh. Fresh from “eliminating” hundreds of Maoists in Bastar, it has instructed the municipality of Raipur to extract a fee from anyone staging a protest at the designated site in the state capital, the Tuta Dharna Sthal.

Mayor Meenal Choubey, of the BJP, naturally says the toll of Rs 500 (duly to be raised to Rs 1,000) levied on protest organisers will go towards “cleaning and maintenance” of the site. The town elders think this is a cool idea and have resolved to go further and impose a charge of Rs 5 per square foot on every pandal erected there.

This is tanta

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