How Indian manufactured auto-rickshaws became a symbol of Iraqi protests

Auto-rickshaws are providing essential emergency services in Iraq after the public works system broke down in the country due to protests.

Representative image of auto-rickshaws | Bloomberg

New Delhi: Auto-rickshaws emerged as the unlikely heroes of the on-going protests in Iraq, which have claimed more than 300 lives since October.

The entire public works system broke down in the country due to the raging anti-establishment protests and auto-rickshaw drivers (also known as tuk-tuks) are now providing essential emergency services. For the past two months, they have been shuttling injured protesters to hospitals, often risking their own lives.

Thus, auto-rickshaws have become a celebrated symbol of these protests.

Interestingly, Indian company Bajaj, the world’s leading supplier of three wheelers, manufactures a large number of these auto-rickshaws in Iraq.

The company’s export data reveals that over the past few years Iraq has been importing auto-rickshaws in huge numbers.

Auto-rickshaws’ rise to prominence 

For the longest time, auto rickshaws and their drivers did not have a good reputation in Iraq.

“Iraq’s battered tuk-tuks have long been a symbol of the country’s poverty, and the reputation of the men who typically drive them was that of an uneducated bunch of toughs working illegally, including without driver’s licenses, and putting lives at risk,” noted an Al Monitor report.

However, “the ongoing anti-government protests have radically changed the image of the motorized rickshaws and their erratic drivers,” the report added.

Auto-rickshaws rose to fame in the country on 30 October, when a partially damaged auto doubled down as a diplomatic vehicle and was used by UN special envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaer to travel to a major protest in Baghdad.

The role of auto-rickshaws in Iraqi protests is now recognised across international media.

“Suddenly, there’s nothing cooler in Iraq than to be a tuk-tuk driver — one of the valiant and honorable men risking their lives as they whiz through tear gas and bullets to rescue injured protesters and ferry them free of charge to hospitals or ambulances that cannot reach the crowds,” reported The Washington Post.

Utility beyond ambulance services 

According to Al Monitor, a graffiti in Baghdad best highlights the role of auto rickshaws in the Iraqi protests. The graffiti proclaims — “It is a tuk-tuk revolution.”

These vehicles also play a key logistical role in the protests and help provide food and drinks to protestors.

“The protesters feel reassured about the large number of tuk-tuks that save the lives of people,” said Mustafa Baseem, an Iraqi protester.

Ahmed al-Dahabi, a social researcher at the University of Baghdad reflected on the role of tuk-tuks in the protests and said that this has created a sense of pride among its drivers.

“If their tuk-tuk gets damaged in the demonstrations, there are many people who want to give them cash donations or garage owners who repair it for free,” he said.