The editorial in today's Oheraldo is nondescript. I don't think Anna Hazare has given the "idea of India a whole new meaning" but instead he has created a new awareness of what the united might of people can achieve in forcing the hand of the government. It would have been wise on the editorialist's part if he/she had read Sunil Khilani's book, Idea of India. It is rather unfortunate that such editorialists lack the ability to analyze a situation. The idea of India is intact, though fissures may appear now and then. The body politic maybe be maimed but it is still a living organism. India is not born again but, in fact, revitalized. The synergy generated during Anna's fast should be sustained for Indian democracy to move forward in a meaningful way. Hazare's movement is an eye-opener to the elected representatives that there comes a time in history when enough is enough. One of the signboards at the rally was "Enough is enough." Bringing Parliament to its knees is a lesson of democracy that won't be easily forgotten. I don't agree with the editorial that "cynicism" holds India back. Courruption does, and the Anna Hazare fast was to highlight this malaise. That Indian are cynical or even fatalist is a given. The editorial is inconsistent with spellings and also had some grammartical errors. "Anna Hazares victory", missing is the apostrophe. In one place Jan Lokpal Bill and elsewhere "Lok Pal", and then "Lokayukta" as one word and later split as "Lok Ayukta". Instead of "Standing Committees" it has been written as "Standing Committee's". Same line, "t" is missing from "the" and continued with "not be forgotten on anybody of the law makers." Who is this "anybody" of the lawmakers? More confusion follows, "India has realized not just the strength of Anna Hazare but the strength of India." Anna Hazare has been the lightning rod to bring most of India together in a fight for a better India, free of corruption and nepotism. India did not discover its own strength by sheer chance. It needed a man of Hazare's integrity and repute to galvanize a nation used to its "chalta hai" attitude. India's democracy has always been strong but it has been undermined by different negative forces, mainly communalism and political chauvinism. The people's will has been subjugated by the political class. It's happening in your own backyard. The fight by different NGOs in Goa has not made any significant impact on the Goa's ruling class. Now that the Goa government has promised to install an office of Lokayukta, it would remain to be seen what changes comes on Goa's political landscape. Anna Hazare's fight has given Indian democracy a sharp edge. let's wait and see how the fight prolongs and what results it brings in the end.
Eugene Correia
