Anna Hazare, Baba Ramdev and The Road Ahead

Anna Hazare has won. He brought the most corrupt government in our history to its knees. I want to discuss the why, the how and what lies ahead.

Baba Ramdev had organized and led an anti corruption rally in Delhi a while ago. While it did not go unnoticed, the coverage was not as good as it was for Anna’s “aamaran anshan”. Why was Anna more successful in mobilizing the nation? Here are some of my thoughts on the matter:

1. It is quite obvious that despite the obvious public anger, none of the political parties in the opposition could provide the leadership the nation needed. It was this hunger that the intrepid Anna provided. He was the flickering light of hope in this maelstrom of abject sin and debauched lust for money driven corruption. Baba Bholenath bless him!

2. A fast unto death will is definitely something that cannot be ignored especially by a septuagenarian Gandhian who is likely to make good on his threat. People flocked to support and see him. It was a combination of empathy with the cause, sympathy for an old crusader and dare I say, morbid curiosity that galvanized the nation. Baba Ramdev simply spoke the truth. His rally did not have the requisite drama to go along.

3. The coverage for the whole endeavor was fantastic. Even English language Media gave their undivided attention to Anna’s fast while they completely ignored Baba Ramdev’s rally. Aside from the lack of a threat there was another thing that was wrong with Baba’s rally. He strove for the same thing. His demands were curbing corruption using existing laws while Anna demanded new legislation. So why the two different coverage? Why was the support more for Anna’s fast than Baba’s rally?

4. I believe that the reason for higher support in the English language and other media was because even they have become tired of UPA inflicted corruption. While it was OK for them to support a secular Anna Hazare, it was not OK to support a Hindu nationalist like Baba Ramdev.

5. The support in the population was more for Anna’s fast because it was a prolonged effort. People had time to mobilize. Baba’s rally was a day long effort so by the time people found out about it and support could be generated in the internet social circles, it was over. Also, people sensed that Anna’s fast was more likely to yield result.

6. Anna’s fast had to yield results. With five state elections in the offing, the UPA could not dare take on him. I believe if that were not the case, they could have incited trouble and unrest which could then have given them an option of arresting him. After all, Anna has powerful enemies in the NCP.

Be that as it may, I cannot but admire and pray for a man like Anna Hazare who had the guts to take on multiple billion dollar industry like the UPA. This should have been done by the BJP but they could not do it effectively because I still believe that the members in the BJP leadership are still not on the same page. If they cannot take advantage of such intense anti corruption groundswell then they better be prepared to sit in the opposition forever.

There is, however a flip side to this. I do not want to sound like a naysayer against the current of hope and all things positive. As the proverb says: “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”. So what happens when we get the Lokpal bill which Anna risked his life for? It will create a body with power to investigate and then bring the guilty to justice. Sounds great. But remember two things.

Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.
A law is as good as people who follow and practice it.

As corrupt as we are, the Pakistanis could teach us a few things in that respect. Their leadership established the “National Accountability Bureau”. The NAB is still there but so is corruption – untouched and continues unabated. Of course the knee jerk reaction from us will be that we are better than the Pakistanis. I would have said that before the UPA I & II. But I am not so sure now.

We already have anti corruption laws but no one follows it. Rules are bent to suit the purposes of a person or a party. Prejudiced people are made in charge of anti corruption / crime bodies to get favorable treatment. The whole sordid tale of P J Thomas and the CVC is the latest episode in that saga. The new Lokpal bill will give a lot of power to some people who will do their job for a while but then who knows how their successors will behave? Who will keep an eye on the Lokpal personnel? While formulating the new bill, are there going to be checks and balances for the new organization? Are we not creating an additional wing in our already bloated bureaucracy? There is a fear that this movement will get hijacked by leftists to fulfill their nefarious agenda. No sooner did the good Anna initiated this fight than the likes of opportunistic pro-Maoist “Swami” Agnivesh and Sandeep Pandey joined in. I hope that the new Lokpal will not give these leftist goons a stick to beat good people with. These are some things that we need to look out for. A lot of hope and energy has been invested in this endeavor.

Ultimately, it will be the responsibility of the populace to keep an eye on these people. If they misbehave, then we should vote them out in the face of voter bribery, regional aspirations and threats. Media needs to keep an eye on these people. Media needs to be really fair and not cover up sins because the perpetrators are not from BJP. If the media fails then the people need to take them to task as well. The likes of Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi have abused their celebrity for personal agendas and gains. Ultimately, it is in our hands to make this thing work. It is our responsibility.