The Protests in Delhi Today
T hirty-seven years ago, an unknown man stepped in front of a column of tanks in Tiananmen Square, China, etching a timeless image of individual defiance against overwhelming state machinery into our collective memory. That solitary man in front of massive military might is an unforgettable image of the human quest for freedom. Thousands of youngsters in China had gathered in Tiananmen Square calling for political and economic reforms, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, government accountability, and an end to official corruption. I see something similar happening in Delhi today. The Tiananmen Square protests grew immensely, drawing students, workers, intellectuals and ordinary citizens into its vortex. Deng Xiaoping had already become the paramount leader of China, a man as jealous of others as the biblical Yahweh was of other gods. His government ordered the army to clear the square. Troops equipped with assault rifles and tanks advanced from various directions toward...
