Movement and struggle are a democratic right. People move to achieve their demands against state injustice, injustice, and oppression. But sadly, during these movements, many people burn cars on the streets, vandalize government buildings, uproot railway lines, and even set fire to the property and shops of ordinary people. This destroys the property of the state, damages the country’s economy, and increases the suffering of the people.

This raises the question – if people are agitating for their rights, why do they destroy the resources of their own country? The root cause of this is not only political, but also a deep psychological and behavioral problem.

Psychological explanation:

1️. Crowd Psychology:

A person thinks rationally when he is alone, but when he is part of a crowd, his personal intelligence is often lost. Psychologist Gustave Le Bon said,
“Crowd makes individuals irrational.” That is, personal consciousness is lost in the crowd. Emotions, anger, revenge – all these then control behavior. That is why even a person who is calm in isolation becomes destructive in a crowd.

2️. Frustration–Aggression Theory:

When people are deprived, neglected, or oppressed for a long time, the anger that has accumulated within them eventually takes a violent form.
Psychologist Dollard and his colleagues say
– “Frustration always leads to aggression”
That is, people behave vindictively in response to long deprivation and injustice. During the movement, that anger explodes on government resources or symbolic enemies.

3️. Symbolic Revenge:

Many people think that destroying government buildings, vehicles, or offices means “taking revenge against the government.” They do not understand that these assets actually belong to the people. This is a kind of mental confusion, where the protesters fail to make people understand the difference between the government and the state.

4️. Excitement and Emotional Contagion:

Human emotions spread very quickly. If one or two people start a fire or vandalism, the people around them also get involved in the same emotion. This is contagious behavior. Then logic does not work; only anger and partisan madness work.

5️. Lack of education and civic consciousness:

Where there is a lack of political education, movements are based on emotion, not logic. If people knew, “Government property is my property,” then such destructive tendencies would be greatly reduced.

Ways to get out of this mindset:

a) Political and civic education:
It is essential to teach civic responsibility, the ethics of movement, and nonviolent protest at the school and college levels.

b) Leadership responsibilities:
Party leaders and activists should keep the movement disciplined and discourage violence.

c) Strict enforcement of the law:
Anyone who destroys state property must be brought to justice and punished swiftly.

d) Psychological counseling and awareness:
Mental training in patience, tolerance, and emotion control should be provided among the youth.

The state belongs to all of us — its resources, buildings, vehicles, bridges, all built with the people’s money. Destroying these means destroying one’s own home.
The destroyer does not understand that he also has rights and participation in these resources. These resources are built with the people’s tax money. Every citizen of the country cooperates with the government by paying direct or indirect taxes.

Movement is successful only when it is constructive and non-violent. For the sake of the country, for our own sake – we have to learn how to achieve our demands without harming others, without harming our own country. We have to move with reason, not emotion. Government resources mean people’s resources.
The real struggle is not destruction, but bringing about change through awareness and morality.

Dr. Abdul Wadud
is the father of Fikamli theory,
a psychology researcher, and a political analyst.