To all the people who have been scoffing at baba ramdev and anna hazare; please get your myopia treated. I am no supporter of religious leaders or socialists or health conscious people for that matter. I am just very pleasantly surprised to hear someone, anyone, stand up and take a stand against corruption. And be heard. But more on that in a bit. First a couple of facts -
We as a nation have never spoken in one voice, indeed we do not even have one language. The fifties saw the nation being divided into states on linguistic lines and even today we see demands for separate states. Parties like the DMK and Shiv Sena in the sixties rose to prominence on extremist regionalism. The seventies saw all parties (barring of course Indira's congress) get together for a very brief period of time only to pull down each other quicker than the months they managed to stay together for. The eighties was hijacked by Rajiv Gandhi & LK Advani together. Religion had become the new language and we will pay the price for that for sometime to come. The nineties and a good part of the following decade were spent by the Indian public and politicians alike, making money. The economy had just been opened up and no one was complaining. For a brief period in the Narsihma Rao government, people were exposed to 'scams'. But we let it slide. No one remembers any protests, strikes, anshans, satyagraha or the like. We all were happy to watch cable TV, drive cars other than Maruti, working in BPOs, etc.We as a nation, let it slide.
For the first time, in 2011, after 64 years, we have had a glimpse of people power. For the first time in 64 years, we are witnessing people talk about something common. Something that affects all of us. Man, woman, child, hindu, christian, muslim, athiests, jats, meenas, sc/st, tribals, maharashtrians, meghalayans...you get the point. Do we really have to nitpick and say anna hazare is a sexist, socialist, activist of an era gone by? Do we have to scoff at ramdev and call him attention seeking, yoga nut? really? I am amazed at our irrestible tendency to sit around passing judgements on people, pulling them down, looking for mistakes. We need to realize that what is happening; is bigger than these select people. It is a movement.
When was the last time we saw people of all walks of life assemble at Jantar Mantar for a common cause, other than of course to visit Jantar Mantar. Arm-chair activists and academics always seem to miss the bus and be cynical about such 'spontaneous' protests. Everybody has ulterior motives, but that does not mean the cause is any lesser. Or the response to the cause is not genuine. I was at Jantar Mantar for two days. I went alone, not aligned with any party or organization. It was just amazing to see so many more like me. The shared frustation was comforting. The fact that we didn't just sit at home and complain about corruption, didn't think whether this meant we support anna hazare, was liberating. We complain too much and have for too long now. It is important that we don't be petty and crib about who is leading the movement. It is not about that one person or organization. It is like when secular types crticize vande matram and forget what that one communal slogan did for us in the past.
May I also remind people, that post the anna hazare fast, the Government of India backed down. When was the last time that happened? Our indifferent, corrupt, bullying government backed down. They are scared. They have seen what happened in Tamil Nadu recently and do not want a repeat at the centre in 2014. Is it not a moment to cherish? Was this even concievable, up till five years back? Come on!
No revolution is perfect, or led by perfect people. We too will find our feet. We may have to tolerate the babas, the annas, the arundhatis, the patkars, but we will get there. Or not. Atleast we are waking up. Talking about common things. Shaking up the goverment machinery! Today, is an important day for the country. Lets not be cynical. Let us support a frail, hairy contortionist. He is taking on the Goverment. He can use another shoulder, even if for a second. We might not get the black money back. Corruption obviously can never be wished away. But, it is a start. Start of a push that may need to last the better part of this decade for any real change to materialize. At least it is a start. When was the last time we tried.
- The Jan Lok Pal Bill was introduced in 1968. that is when the beatles were still relevant, Russia was a superpower, padosan was a hit, basically a long time back in the history of this country
- The Supreme Court of India recently announced famously during a hearing on the black money case "What the hell is going on in the country?" The court went on to castigate the government over its 'reluctance' to declare the name of offenders with illegal accounts in banks overseas
We as a nation have never spoken in one voice, indeed we do not even have one language. The fifties saw the nation being divided into states on linguistic lines and even today we see demands for separate states. Parties like the DMK and Shiv Sena in the sixties rose to prominence on extremist regionalism. The seventies saw all parties (barring of course Indira's congress) get together for a very brief period of time only to pull down each other quicker than the months they managed to stay together for. The eighties was hijacked by Rajiv Gandhi & LK Advani together. Religion had become the new language and we will pay the price for that for sometime to come. The nineties and a good part of the following decade were spent by the Indian public and politicians alike, making money. The economy had just been opened up and no one was complaining. For a brief period in the Narsihma Rao government, people were exposed to 'scams'. But we let it slide. No one remembers any protests, strikes, anshans, satyagraha or the like. We all were happy to watch cable TV, drive cars other than Maruti, working in BPOs, etc.We as a nation, let it slide.
For the first time, in 2011, after 64 years, we have had a glimpse of people power. For the first time in 64 years, we are witnessing people talk about something common. Something that affects all of us. Man, woman, child, hindu, christian, muslim, athiests, jats, meenas, sc/st, tribals, maharashtrians, meghalayans...you get the point. Do we really have to nitpick and say anna hazare is a sexist, socialist, activist of an era gone by? Do we have to scoff at ramdev and call him attention seeking, yoga nut? really? I am amazed at our irrestible tendency to sit around passing judgements on people, pulling them down, looking for mistakes. We need to realize that what is happening; is bigger than these select people. It is a movement.
When was the last time we saw people of all walks of life assemble at Jantar Mantar for a common cause, other than of course to visit Jantar Mantar. Arm-chair activists and academics always seem to miss the bus and be cynical about such 'spontaneous' protests. Everybody has ulterior motives, but that does not mean the cause is any lesser. Or the response to the cause is not genuine. I was at Jantar Mantar for two days. I went alone, not aligned with any party or organization. It was just amazing to see so many more like me. The shared frustation was comforting. The fact that we didn't just sit at home and complain about corruption, didn't think whether this meant we support anna hazare, was liberating. We complain too much and have for too long now. It is important that we don't be petty and crib about who is leading the movement. It is not about that one person or organization. It is like when secular types crticize vande matram and forget what that one communal slogan did for us in the past.
May I also remind people, that post the anna hazare fast, the Government of India backed down. When was the last time that happened? Our indifferent, corrupt, bullying government backed down. They are scared. They have seen what happened in Tamil Nadu recently and do not want a repeat at the centre in 2014. Is it not a moment to cherish? Was this even concievable, up till five years back? Come on!
No revolution is perfect, or led by perfect people. We too will find our feet. We may have to tolerate the babas, the annas, the arundhatis, the patkars, but we will get there. Or not. Atleast we are waking up. Talking about common things. Shaking up the goverment machinery! Today, is an important day for the country. Lets not be cynical. Let us support a frail, hairy contortionist. He is taking on the Goverment. He can use another shoulder, even if for a second. We might not get the black money back. Corruption obviously can never be wished away. But, it is a start. Start of a push that may need to last the better part of this decade for any real change to materialize. At least it is a start. When was the last time we tried.
Congratulations! I enjoyed reading your blog. It was especially interesting to see 'the skeptic' asking people to not be cynical :)
ReplyDeletea redistribution of power is taking place away from the politicians. this by iteself should bring the level of corruption down.
ReplyDeleteWhile round one at jantar mantar was exciting, i thought the demands were pedestrian and did not do justice to the crowd. however round 2 led by brd is simple, direct and radical. if the government yields on even a few of his demands it will not be anything less than a revolution.
agree with you whole-heartedly.
A positive mode and in a high life condition. I like, I like. :)
ReplyDeleteT