There Is Hope For Us Still

This is not a political post. This is not about the movement or about Anna Hazare (AH). This is about the people. The mass of people who turned up yesterday at India Gate and scores of other cities across India, UK and the US. In a brilliant display of spontaneous civil awakening, some 20,000 people turned up at India Gate yesterday afternoon through the night. It is about people who are fed up with the going ons, the way we have to live our lives everyday.

For once, everybody seems united by a common concern. A concern that for so long has affected all sections of society for so long. Yesterday it became a cause. It was amazing to see people from all walks of life, men & women, the elderly, people with their families. Yet there was a commonality which transcended every distinction which we learn to live with in this country.

Anna Hazare may be the face and voice of this movement, but the people supporting it are its body. These are people who have made an effort to be seen, to be heard, to stand up and be counted. The urgency to set things right is contagious and much needed. People have had enough of living their lives facing corruption every day. It is this frustration that has spurred these people into action. To say it loud and clear, we will not take this lying down. What many people, intellectuals, analysts, politicians, the media (NDTV especially) do not get is that this is not about the Jan Lokpal Bill. People are piggybacking on that one issue to be vent their anger about corruption at large. The anger and frustration is not going to subside even if the bill is amended to incorporate changes suggested by the team led by AH. The people feel there is a real chance for change now. A change in how we deal with the administration every day.

The other notable thing yesterday was how the march from India Gate to Jantar Mantar and back was conducted. Unlike what some congressmen (Mr. Rashid Alvi) have suggested it was not organized by the US govt. It was a deluge of people, people who got up from their homes & offices just to be there. Yet there was this overriding sense of responsibility, that no confrontation takes place. It was incredible to see how a group of thousands of people were so well behaved. Volunteers were managing traffic, passing out food and water, cleaning the roads off leftovers. It is rare to see such a display of collective civil behaviour in India. Even cricket matches where the whole crowd is backing the same team are witness to incidents which shame us. Here it was something else.

The marchers were told to stick to one side of the road, and unbelievably not one person crossed the yellow median. People waited at regular intervals to let traffic through. The reaction from the people waiting in traffic was also incredibly encouraging. People got out of their cars to cheer the marchers on, heads sticking out of bus windows joined in the various slogans being raised, bikers giving thumbs up to marchers passing them by, boy was it wonderful! Compare all of this to how political rallies are held in Delhi. All traffic is blocked, public property is damaged, commuters heckled, the police usually has to resort to using water cannons and mild lathi charge. Here there was not a single incident reported, no scuffles, no eyeball to eyeball confrontations. Both the marchers and the commuters shared a genuine concern for each other's problems. There was no us v/s them. I romanticize, but it is hard not to.

It is also commendable if we start comparing yesterday's events with what has been happening around the world. It is easy to whip up mass frenzy when a cause is shared by numbers as large as yesterday. Yet the restraint we displayed shows us that we are maturing as a people. Sensibilities have changed, public anger is no more about beating up people on the road, tearing apart barricades, damaging buses, burning effigies. It is about being heard. Loud and fucking clear.

I sincerely hope it stays like this in the days to come. We should build on the momentum of this movement. We should stay civil, be the change we wish to see. Yesterday, we saw a glimpse of what we can be. It is time we start being that, everyday.