Almost 65 years ago when India had put its baby foot forward, crawling and finding its way through the maladroit democracy, an Anna ( 1/16th of a Rupee) formed the most basic unit of sustenance in the Indian households. A Hazaar (1000) Annas during those days meant a long list of family members could be easily entertained over the weekend. With the passage of time, the Anna wore out and went out of the reckoning, paving the way for the freshly minted 25paisa.
The occurrences of the past few weeks, however, have only strengthened my belief in the fact that what goes around comes around. While the decision makers of the country decided to disband the 25 paisa, the collective memory of the country brought the grand old Anna back into public conscience, relegated otherwise mostly to the pages of Wikipedia. This time, though, Anna was not about the sustainability of just one family; Anna had now become an elixir for the entire Indian society. The Hazaar Annas had been replaced by a single Anna Hazaare – A septuagenarian Gandhian by cause and means. Anna Hazare paraded to “Jantar Mantar” on a pre-declared date to surmount his fight against corruption, which the incumbent government had become synonymous with. What followed over the next few days was nothing short of a “Janta’s Mantar”. The supporter of the fight against corruption, the middle-class Indian population, engaged in a never seen before on Indian TV, “PDA” (public display of affection) for Anna Hazare in front of the 24x7 Reality News Channels (more Reality TV and less News). Anna drew support not just from citizens of India but also from denizens who resided in virtual worlds. Anna Hazare and his champions forced the government to surrender to their demands for a formal joint committee which would formulate an effective Jan-LokPal Bill.
What has been interesting since then has been the take by the print media and certain sections of the electronic media, which has tried to post mortem the movement by debating its efficacy. Litres of ink and electricity have been spent trying to deliberate its impact on the future. After having gone through most of the views (pro and against), there are some points, raised by those who opposed the motion, that I found to be very frivolous. The list of people who opposed the motion has generally included the intellectuals of the society – Editors of Newspaper/ magazines, Lawyers, IAS officers etc. Considering, these people don’t generally have to go through the wrath of govt’s disengagement, unlike the proletariat, a cold blooded approach to analyzing such public movements can be anticipated.
The most common objection raised by the beau monde is that such movements (where the leader fasts unto death) can be used to blackmail the governments in the future. This particular act of dissidence has set a precedence for all and sundry who can in future use similar arm twisting tactics to achieve their goals. The examples that have been used are – Jats blocking railway movement to be included in OBC list, Chandrashekhar Rao going on a fast to get his share from an erstwhile peaceful state etc. However, what these analysts failed to note is that none of the other causes that they typically cite has achieved a sense of national unity the way Anna Hazare’s movement did. Not only did it find resonance among the Indians in India but also with those sitting across the seven seas.
Secondly, while most of the dissenters have had parochial agendas directed towards benefiting a sect of the populace, Anna’s cause was nationalistic, something that could bring grace to India, hence purely nationalistic in nature.
Thirdly, these analysts have failed to realize the main cause behind such public outrages time and again. If we delve deeper we shall see that somehow or the other such outrages are manifestations of gross neglect of the commoners by successive governments. For ex: , Rao’s movement for a separate state of Telengana found public support (including university students) because people from the region of Telengana had been grossly deprived of basic amenities such as water and electricity far too long. Similarly, even though the call for reservation in public service by Jats was selfish by all means, the movement had seen the light of the day because of the vote bank politics that successive governments had played far too often. Had the governments been sincere about upliftment of the neglected, reservations in the current form wouldn’t have existed.
Another objection that had been raised against Anna Hazare’s movement has been that an all powerful Jan Lok Pal will hinder public servants to go about their job creatively without fear of implication. Oft cited example has been Dr. E Sreedharan (Delhi’s Metro Man) who, for an effective project execution, had reportedly violated many norms set by the government. In such cases therefore E Shreedharan can be sent to trial by the Jan Lok Pal. This argument although valid, has to be seen in the context of aggregate level inefficiency and corruption plaguing the executive and the legislature (and to some extent judiciary) in every walk of life. For every sincere Sreedharan, there are scores of insincere bureaucrats and far more politicians. The genuine problems that Sreedharan faced wouldn’t have even existed had the executive and legislature gone around their work earnestly.
Of course the Jan Lok Pal bill in its current form has many weaknesses to be considered as is. But, there had to be a start somewhere. The governments have had a very poor record when it came to passing such a bill. The malaise of corruption and inefficient governance has had a churn on people's lives.. Hope the national awakening brings the current government out of its slumber or else it may be thrown out of its bed on the 15th August, 2011.
The game has just got more interesting!!! Jai Hind!!!
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