It’s Anna-ther Day Ervell E. Menezes
It was during Indira Gandhi’s inglorious Emergency of the mid-1970s that we coined the phrase “Even a worm will turn, but not an Indian.” This was because that draconian era was stoically borne by us Indians. There was not even a whimper of protest. But all that seems to have changed over decades of scams and frustation and the advent of a simple farmer from Ralegaon Siddhi in Maharashtra who has shaken the nation as never before and New Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, the scene of his historic fast, is now being called the foundry of Indian political thought. The India Against Corruption crusade had a snow-balling effect after senior Delhi lawyer Shanti Bhushan and Magsaysay awardee and Right to Information activist Arvind Kejriwal joined the 74-year-old farmer to press for the Jan Lokpall Bill which had long been since in cold storage. The movement had received a further thrust after Anna’s arrest and the lathi-charge which ageing BJP leader L K Advani foolishly compared to the Jalianwallah Bagh massacre. He’s really lost it. That the Congress high command made a mess of things is another reason for this upsurge. Blowing hot and cold was of no use. Their think-tank scored a blank and the prime minister merely saying “Anna Hazare is an honest man” did little to assuage the situation. Spurred on by a plethora of scams (the Commonwealth Games and the 2G spectrum to name just two) folks from all walks of life joined the fray. Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Mehda Patkar made a big impact saying “We will not indulge in corruption, nor will we allow corruption.” She also attacked the Ambanis who “proudly crow about earning lakhs every minute but remain silent to the farmers committing suicide.” This part, however, was blanked out by the media which is nothing new where certain issues are untouchable. Having reached the stage it has now one must be careful how to handle that power. It’s time to shed all emotion and have a pragmatic game plan where integrity should be the USP. Do we have enough of such leaders ? One needs to look for them for do we not know instances of revolutions setting to change the existing order and in the end emulating it. The case of the Marcos’ in the Philippines is a striking example of the Lord Acton quote “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” We have already seen Baba Ramdev trying to convert his yoga clout into political power but he has since been thoroughly exposed. Then the Rashtriya Sewamsevak Sangh (RSS) is said to be another big player in the field. Rajesh Ramchandran of e-paper Mail Today clubs Anna’s movement to predecessors like JP and V.P.Singh and calls RSS ideologue K N Govindacharya the Kautilia of the Indian right. These are straws in the wind and who knows some of them may be coming from the government itself to scuttle the campaign. Hence, this incubation period is important. It is the first time a people’s movement is taking shape. And it must filter through all sections of the aam admi (why not Goa too ? but it will be hard to find someone to cast the first stone)) irrespective of caste or creed and carefully weeding out the chaff from the grain. It is not an impossible dream. It can be done with good leadership aided by dedication and integrity. But it has to be a full time job undertaken with missionary zeal, including that jeans-wearing collegian who scoffed at “this Medha, she will kill growth.” Source: http://www.heraldgoa.in/newscategory/Opinions/14
