The Movement against Corruption - a different view!
It was little surprising to see the kind of support Anna Hazare received. Because, it made common people who normally don't get "disturbed" by such protests come out.
This is not Anna Hazare's first protest. He has led number of protests in Maharashtra on various issues over the years. He comes across as a person with ideals. He does something because he believes in it, not because he'll get some benefit out of it.
But the people support for this is a little worrying as much as it is gratifying. It's gratifying to note that finally, people are fed up with the steady flow of scams coming out. So much so that they are coming out in the open the moment someone looking credible is taking up cudgels against it.
But it's worrying as well, as our tendency to support or oppose without proper reading and thought has come out in full display on this issue. Of all the public support Anna Hazare received, most of them had no clue about the Jan Lokpal bill that he was campaigning for or the "sarkari" Lokpall bill that he was opposing. Did we care to check what was the issue all about before deciding to support or oppose? Some may have done it, most did not.
For the people, his old age and gandhian credentials were enough. Thank god that it was Anna Hazare. Imagine if it were some other unknown dubious small time politician or an equally dubious publicity-seeking NGO donning a Gandhi cap and mouthing platitudes sitting there. With the media hype, chances are the public would have come out in full support, without realizing what the issue was all about.
It is this tendency to support or oppose without thinking much that lead to UPA coming back to power again. Most of the scams we are irritated about now have their origins in UPA-I. 2G scam was being discussed for 3 years. Yet, we chose to support a "good", "honest" Manmohan Singh. Did we check how good was his government? Did we think if being good and honest enough to be a good Prime Minister? The PM still is good man. But of what use is that goodness when the government he is heading has corrupt people and is ineffective?
Why is it that political parties think they can spend 50+ crores in an assembly election to bribe voters? It is a shame that of all the 5 states that went for elections, 50+ crores were snatched in TN alone. Political parties spend because there are takers. And the takers don't realize what they are selling. Because, we come to hasty conclusions without caring to know much. We think of today, not of tomorrow.
If we want the political class to take us seriously, we need to read, check, think and apply our mind before we come to any conclusion on anyone / any issue. If that happens, that will be the biggest gain for India.
This is not Anna Hazare's first protest. He has led number of protests in Maharashtra on various issues over the years. He comes across as a person with ideals. He does something because he believes in it, not because he'll get some benefit out of it.
But the people support for this is a little worrying as much as it is gratifying. It's gratifying to note that finally, people are fed up with the steady flow of scams coming out. So much so that they are coming out in the open the moment someone looking credible is taking up cudgels against it.
But it's worrying as well, as our tendency to support or oppose without proper reading and thought has come out in full display on this issue. Of all the public support Anna Hazare received, most of them had no clue about the Jan Lokpal bill that he was campaigning for or the "sarkari" Lokpall bill that he was opposing. Did we care to check what was the issue all about before deciding to support or oppose? Some may have done it, most did not.
For the people, his old age and gandhian credentials were enough. Thank god that it was Anna Hazare. Imagine if it were some other unknown dubious small time politician or an equally dubious publicity-seeking NGO donning a Gandhi cap and mouthing platitudes sitting there. With the media hype, chances are the public would have come out in full support, without realizing what the issue was all about.
It is this tendency to support or oppose without thinking much that lead to UPA coming back to power again. Most of the scams we are irritated about now have their origins in UPA-I. 2G scam was being discussed for 3 years. Yet, we chose to support a "good", "honest" Manmohan Singh. Did we check how good was his government? Did we think if being good and honest enough to be a good Prime Minister? The PM still is good man. But of what use is that goodness when the government he is heading has corrupt people and is ineffective?
Why is it that political parties think they can spend 50+ crores in an assembly election to bribe voters? It is a shame that of all the 5 states that went for elections, 50+ crores were snatched in TN alone. Political parties spend because there are takers. And the takers don't realize what they are selling. Because, we come to hasty conclusions without caring to know much. We think of today, not of tomorrow.
If we want the political class to take us seriously, we need to read, check, think and apply our mind before we come to any conclusion on anyone / any issue. If that happens, that will be the biggest gain for India.
I strongly object to your worrying factor, may be people who are illiterate are the one who supported Anna without knowing what is Lokpal Bill. People surely wanted to know why he is fasting coz its basic curiosity, i don't think anybody supported him blindly. Anna has said if the Parliament rejects the bill i will accept it, i don't understand what kind of a nonsense talk is this. Parliament runs with these corrupted politicians only and if they reject the bill Anna would accept it ? Bullshit. Then why this fast, lots of people support from every corner? Everything seems useless.
ReplyDelete@Chitra - I think Mohan is right as his view was very generic. Many people did not even know what he was trying to do. Even now i am sure many people would not know what Lokpal bill could do. Its another thing whether it would be implemented properly or not.
ReplyDeleteAnna cannot say he would not agree on parliaments decision. Because technically he would not be heard. Now at least the govt is willing to hear him. And if parliament rejects it people would ask questions as to why it is being rejected. Then govt will be in a mess. I think Anna is right.
@Mohan - Though this trend started in Middle east and now spreading to other regions of the world, i doubt whether it would be enacted at all, because congress though they seem to support, are against this. Even if comes into effect the implementation would be a major issue. Currently in Karnataka Lok ayuktha has found CM to be totally guilty, but no one bothers. Unless people give importance to the outcome of these it would not have any effect. If we continue to vote on the basis of caste, religion or money no one can save us.
Of all your blog posts I've read, this takes the cake. Probably because I couldn't agree more with you on this. Initially even I didn't know about lokpal bill and its details mainly because the TV media didn't highlight this, I later read in the internet about this. All my "informed" circle of friends didn't know this. One of my friend actually asked us to join with him in Marina beach to show our support Anna hazare w/o knowing the lokpal bill.
ReplyDelete@Chitra, That's my whole point. It's so easy for people to support Anna Hazare one day and oppose him the next day. It shouldn't be. People should check and think before either offering support or opposition.
ReplyDeleteFirst, Anna cannot say he won't accept parliament decision if it goes against him. Thats unlawful and if it is allowed this time then nothing prevents a "bogus" Anna Hazare impostor from using that weapon. All that would then ensue is chaos. Second, Anna was not asking for "his" draft to be passed. He was only asking for civil society participation in drafting the bill so that the proposed institution of lokpal doesn't become a joke. He was saying, "let's come up with a good draft, table it in parliament soon and debate. If even after that it gets rejected for any valid reason, I am prepared to accept." Anna knows that the Congress government cannot afford to reject it for stupid reasons as that would only lead to another fast with 24/7 telecast by news channels. The government cannot afford that. In my opinion, it was a smart comment by Anna Hazare.
@Ananth, you got it right! Our vote should be objective, not on any hasty basis.
@Raj, thanks! I saw this in TV when journalists were asking people in jantar-mantar. Most didn't have a clue about what this was fully about. They thought its something against corruption led by a Gandhian, so why not support it. That triggered my thought. :)