He was about to court arrest, when they detained him. Heavens fell when he was taken to jail. At the end they wanted to let him go, he refused to go. Tamasha factor returned to haunt the Lokpal struggle that otherwise would have been a historic mass movement against corruption.
Anna Hazare wanted to go on fasting after his release from Tihar Jail, while the government was weighing the options keeping further action to be unfolded in view. The bargain took more than a day, and when they arrived at an agreement there was only disagreement and no one was happy.
High decibel arguments were on the citizen’s right to protest. The roar reverberated in the parliament, while the T-shirt activists on streets were in their full form. Those were the feasting moments for the TV stars on panel discussions, and festive occasion for sound bite givers. The channels did their best to cash in on the frenziness through non-stop coverage. The angst was against the government preventing the crusader from choosing his own way of agitation.
But, what happened to the main cause? No one was talking about corruption that every one wanted to curb. Not even the Jan Lokpal bill was the priority for a while. Jubilation was in waiting to mark the government’s defeat that would have allowed Anna to fast.
This way, can any one hope putting an end to a widespread menace like corruption?
Why the government did detain Anna and later show it as arrest knowing the consequences very well? If at all the Delhi police are so free, as Chidambaram described, how Rahul Gandhi could get them taking back the charges against Anna? The awkwardness of Anna sharing the jail ward with their fellow party man, who is there on corruption charges, moved the Congressmen to act so quickly in the mid-night? Or were they enjoying the situation that gave them a good opportunity to divert public attention from scams dogging the government?
And why Anna was so particular on the hunger strike in a particular way? Was he not aware of the principles of Gandhigiri that says cooperation with the authority is effective non-cooperation? Had he really followed the Bapu’s path he would have held the protest whereever he was allowed to do it under any condition. And there would have been no noise and no fake faces seen in the vicinity. Gandhiji chose the way of obedience for his civil disobedience and spiritualism was the guiding spirit.
While it would be blasphemous to compare the lunacy with Gandhiji’s satyagraha, flash of intolerance and clash of ego was the crest of disgrace. Smearing and slander are something non-Gandhian and both the warring sides are guilty of this sin.
Jawahalal Nehru had once warned Gandhiji, in a lighter vein, of the consequence of his civil disobedience in free India. It was a few days before India’s independence, when Nehru said, “Bapu, I will have to put you behind bars if your histrionics continue in the self rule. Better you tie your spinning wheel in the attic.” Gandhiji replied, “True, you will be the head of the state and I will be on the other side of the fence. I will be free to protest, and you will be free to arrest me. But, don’t worry I will be obedient.”
Nehru didn’t have the chance to arrest Gandhiji as the Bapu was no more when he became the first prime minister of India. Even had he been there, sure he would have found an innovative way to goad the government of free India as the old methods were meant for the foreign rulers.
“Bapu’s method of fasting was completely different than that of Anna. Bapu would have not threatened anyone the way Anna has. During Bapu’s time, fasting was never used against an opponent. Rather, it was used to lead a friend to the right path.” said Tushar Gandhi.
The new generation overwhelming in extending support to Anna may not know Gandhi. Anna knows him very well, and it is his duty to introduce the champion to them in a right manner.
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It’s nothing but a laughable farce
By Kumar Ketkar
The political melodrama being played nationally with Anna Hazare as the central character is rapidly becoming a farce with its attendant mass frenzy. The generation that is chanting and dancing on the streets is being told by senior leaders that the situation is akin to the Emergency. But all references to 1975 are reflections of political illiteracy and are largely irrelevant.
About 36 years ago, when Indira Gandhi declared the Emergency, the economic situation was horrifying. The backdrop was the century’s worst global drought. There was food shortage, an oil crisis, post-1971 war economic disruption and all this was compounded by the nation-wide railway strike of 1974 leading to industrial stagnation and price rise. There was also the so-called “Total Revolution” led by Jayprakash Narayan.
The government led by Indira Gandhi had to take drastic steps to overcome the multi-dimensional crisis enveloping the country. Whether the Emergency was justified or not is a different question. The CPI backed the move while other parties thought that Indira Gandhi was a megalomaniac and autocratic. They were united under the broad leadership of JP. The confrontation was political in its character, content and style.
Today, there is an altogether different situation. The economy, despite global doom, is doing well. There is no shortage of food or any commodity. There is inflation but the middle class has taken it in its stride. There are 24x7 private channels, mobile phones and McDonald’s. The generation that has gone into the Anna frenzy has been brought up on all this. Even a movement idealistic in imagination, but a fashion statement in reality, can be a form of entertainment and high TRPs for the channels. Of course, it would be unfair to tar the whole movement with this brush.
But it must not be forgotten that this is its main content, or at least epicentre. There is no Cold War. There is no strong labour movement and nothing even closely resembling a national railway strike. In no way can Prime Minister Manmohan Singh be called autocratic or authoritarian, as Indira Gandhi was described. And most of all, Mr Hazare is not a patch on JP. Therefore, to compare the current situation to Emergency and the arrest of Mr Hazare to the arrest of JP is laughable. To paraphrase Karl Marx, the Emergency was a tragedy, what’s happening now is a farce.
* Kumar Ketkar, chief editor, daily Divya Marathi
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