Anna: An Inconvenient Hero

Now that Anna-mania has substantially subsided in this country, I’m wondering what exactly makes a person hero in India. It’s an open secret that for a nation of more than 1.2 billion people, we face a severe drought of real-life icons. And Sachin alone won’t suffice.

In the midst of such anomalies, a 74 year old Gandhian named Anna Hazare declares a non-violent war against corruption. His cronies, Team Anna, even came up with a strong draft (Jan Lokpal Bill) which according to them, and unsurprisingly most of the urban populace, would check corrupt politicians and bureaucrats in the future. They expressed their desire to convert the draft into a law. As expected, the government didn’t comply under the disguise of protecting our sexagenarian constitution. As accepted, Anna embarked on a fast in protest.

All the major cities experienced an overwhelming stimulus resulting in gatherings to express support and solidarity. No surprises there when the middle class including youth rose in large numbers onto the street to make their frustration visible. It was pretty clear that Anna was not only popular but someone who meant business. He completed 12 days without food and the ruling government had to blink first.

What next? Celebration took place and people were exuberant believing they have dealt a heavy blow to a government that is unanimously perceived as corrupt. We can conclude that Anna went hungry but won the first round. Of course while doing so, he kept repeating that Team Anna were representing Aam Aadmi (Common Man) and referred themselves as Civil Society. They went on record and said they were fighting the Freedom Struggle 2.0.

How can people trust a government that ran scam after scam throughout the calendar? Genuine question.

But won’t the very democracy that enables hoi polloi to take a stand against what they feel is unjust be compromised if the draft goes against the very tenets of constitution? Another genuine question.

Democracy is the cornerstone on which our ever-expanding nation is based upon and is the primal reason why neither the geography nor the demography has changed since independence. Secondly, the constitution has been a dynamic force behind it. As far as the Jan Lokpal Bill is concerned, to be very frank, I’m not qualified or well-read enough to comment on the nuances. Nor are the people who think they are Anna. That’s precisely where the problem lies. A majority of those who turned up at Ramlila Ground to express their oneness with the cause most probably don't even exercise their right to vote. Furthermore, the media appeared biased and was literally commending Anna’s food-defying efforts.

Being human, we are bound to get excited but while we are at it, we often forget the price our next generation might well end up paying. A majority of you, your friends and their friends might be supporting the Jan Lokpal without even having an iota of knowledge what it states per se. It's similar to living in a city of blinds. Even if the light shows up, no one will have a clue!

Anyway, corruption didn't just took birth one fine morning and we were bewildered by its might. It's far more complex than that. And Anna Hazare is a honest but a very naive person to deal with that. He commenced with strong speeches against corruption but when the script didn't went the way he thought, the word bhrashtachar (corruption) was effectively replaced by the word sarkar (government). No big deal considering how stained the ruling party is in flesh and blood. But still.

In reality, the fight should have been a gradual progress against a systematic decay. The current need of the day is to check bribe and goonism rampant in the administration. And I guess one single bill is just a small step towards eliminating the virus. But yes, a very necessary step. Thankfully, the entire “uprising” was more or less peaceful unlike the ones that took place post-Jasmine Revolution throughout the Arab world.

Anna Hazare is not Gandhi. What happened in Ramlila Ground is a far cry from what happened during The Emergency of 1975. But the best part of the whole event lies in its irony. Anna's detractors would benefit the most if Anna proves right in the long run. After all, he participated in one of the most interesting episodes that tested the strength of Indian democracy. Net-net, the ruling government received a jolt it so desperately required and the country got a hero in return.

Corrup(na)tion

Lately, there has been a huge hue and cry over corruption. No wait. I mean, a huge hue and cry AGAINST corruption. As if someone shook us from an age old slumber. The point is people have started talking about it instead of just being privy. We’ve got to start somewhere, right? Of course, we are not entirely against it. After all, it’s a way of life here. Not a place in this country is untouched by this menace. Everyone is equally responsible as it’s a walk-in party. In such scenario, having a voice matters. And that’s where Anna Hazare chips in. He has a clean-cut image and is a staunch Gandhian. His call to the nation to rise up and fight against corruption is centered on the introduction of Jan Lokpal Bill. As of now, he’s on a hunger strike and won’t budge until the govt meets his (read: our) demands.

It sounds like a bit unusual for India, doesn’t it? Straight out of an inspirational movie! Well, it’s a sign of things to come. Whatever unfolds in the coming days is going to be an interesting episode of our post-independence history. On the funnier side, people are getting caught up in the brouhaha. They are frantically forwarding mails and SMSes supporting Hazare, liking Facebook pages dedicated to the *cause* and tweeting incessantly. Now, there is nothing wrong with feeling revolutionary once in a while. As one can sense, the Middle-Eastern rebellion is in the air and masses are bound to be lured by its call. Better stand up for something than not do nothing at all. Fair enough. Can’t debate with such pragmatism. But the trouble doesn’t lie in the passing of that hopeful Bill. It lies somewhere else.

If you think about it, corruption is just a stupid idea. Like most other things, it begins and ends with you. The ferocity with which it is practiced depends on the scale of power one holds. It’s like a business, not barter. All the parties involved are fully aware of the reach of their action as well as the consequences of their inaction. The purported Bill will certainly help in bringing the more powerful party to question. It’s more like obstructing the bigger cog wheel of an engine. You stop it and the smaller cogs don’t exist anymore. For the time being, that’s the logic. And that’s precisely also the reason why it’s garnering such lethargy from the corrupt idiots we elected all the way to the Parliament.

Now, the question arises: Will this Bill bring a round about change in our daily functioning and eradicate corruption once and for all? The answer is simple: No. Remember the Right to Information Act? Does every Indian make the best possible use of it? Or, is every Indian even aware of the kind of reach it vests in them? Or the number of RTI activists who were murdered thanks to their altruistic whistleblowing? Exactly. That’s what I’m trying to put forward here. These are basic doubts that have to be part of the anti-corruption Bill curriculum, too. The fact remains that Bills, legislation and eventual laws do very little to change an ugly picture like ours.

The onus falls squarely on the society. The kind of principle an offspring is imparted with is what makes a difference in the long run. Virtues like honesty, punctuality and humanity should be the cornerstone of change. Yes, we should be glad that citizenry is at top gear with people gathering and emulating Hazare’s fasting methods. That’s a good omen for a society which has nurtured selfish individuals for years now. Perhaps we’ll have our own version of Egypt or Tunisia soon. But then, corrupt babus are pretty keen on carrying forward the tradition of failure, without fail. So we’ve got to create a barricade against them. If you don’t indulge in the payment or reception of bribe, you’ve done your part. That’s that.

Speaking for myself, I'm trying to connect the dots between my hesitancy in standing up against corruption and a noble old man's insistence on fighting with hunger. Hopefully, I shall get somewhere someday.