September 12, 2012

A day after Team Anna announced its political debut, some dejected supporters of Anna Hazare across the country burnt posters of Anna and India against Corruption. The supporters are against the team's decision to form a political party. The supporters had been sitting with Anna in protest for the past 10 days. Has Anna’s crusade against the corruption reached an abrupt dead end?

Anna and his team knew for sure that they would not get the Congress lead UPA government to budge their demand for the strong Lokpal bill. According to Ajaz Asharf, “Not even the incorrigible optimist believed the indefinite fast of team Anna at Jantar Mantar could compel the UPA government to institute probe into charge leveled against 14 union ministers and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.”

Did Anna and his team have another alternative other than the political alternative? Why did Anna choose political sword? Why did he choose to turn away from genuine revolution to political game? Will he be able to deliver what the nation hoped for- ‘a corruption free nation’ through the political path? Why did he decide to give up his Gandhian way?
 

Where did Anna lose the track?

A year ago Anna became the conscience and voice of nation against the corruption. The whole nation rallied behind him and placed their hopes on him. He galvanized the whole nation specially the middle class to support his movement through the help of unprecedented media coverage and publicity. But the glory was short lived. The mass began to grow disillusioned about the very movement.

According to me there are two major causes for the down fall of Anna movement.

1. Anna’s excessive resort to hunger strike

Anna Hazare has sat on several indefinite and short fasts for different causes over the years. But, it was the effort at Jantar Mantar in April last year that the spotlight first returned on hunger strike as a bargaining tool in the political arena. No wonder being Gandhian, Anna drew his inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi to fast. It proved at first as an effective instrument to bring moral pressure on the corrupt politicians. But excessive resort to hunger strike has ended up making the whole tactic seem as a tool of blackmail rather than moral pressure. But, over a short period of 16 months, 'fasting' seems to have lost its advantage. Anna was at it again a couple of times but finally seems to have abandoned the tool last week. Fasting for a cause may forever lose its charm now. After a year the fast tactic failed to attract the people to come out in support. People have slowly lost their enthusiasm.
 

2. Failure to bear the frustration

It was Yogendra Yadav, senior fellow at CSDS, who gave the Clarion call to provide the political alternative when he said, “I would tell him to say to the country that it needs an alternative kind of politics. And to say while I will not join a political party, I am here to help you form one by laying foundations of a new kind of a political organization,” to Karan Thapar on CNN.

There was reason for team Anna embracing the suggestion at that time. He had failed to put pressure on the government through his hunger strike. There were sign of bickering light within his core group. The whole movement was losing its ground when he started his indefinite hunger strike this July at Jantar Mantar. Anna was definitely going through low phase of his revolutionary movement.

It is very unfortunate that the first sign of frustration came with Anna and his team opting to contest election by going political. Team Anna has unwisely decided to enter into politics. It can prove to be a dangerous territory. Does team Anna have money and muscle power to fight the elections? Anna should know that even now elections are fought on basis of caste and class. Can team Anna penetrate the barrier of caste and win elections? What if Anna’s team contests elections and does not win? What happens to the whole movement of Indian against corruption?
 

The alternative other than the political alternative

Anna being an experienced social activist must know the corruption is malaise that cannot be cured overnight. It certainly cannot be rooted out from the top. Corruption is the diseases that need to be addressed from the bottom, grass root level.

I strongly feel Anna should have not tried to change political system and politicians at once. There is a saying in English which goes one cannot teach old dog new trick. Politician being the field will resist any change and are unwilling to mend their ways. The alternative for building the nation is building up the next generation. We have the future of the country being molded in the schools and colleges.
 

True nation building?

I am very inspired by the incident narrated by Biswath Gosh in one of his opinion piece about his experience in a train Journey which clearly drives home what I want to say.
 
“I am reminded of a train journey I undertook from Chennai to Hyderabad some years ago. My co-passengers in the coupe were a small family — a man, woman and their child. Soon after they finished having dinner, the man was about to throw the plastic boxes out of the window when the child — a girl about five years old — stopped him.

“No appa,” she admonished her father, “My teacher tells me not to throw out things like that. Please put them in the bin.” The man deeply embarrassed but bearing a proud smile, set out in search of a bin”.
 
That’s where nation-building begins: the school. One cannot set right the character of a nation through legislation, laws and regulations. What can a law do for us? A piece law can only punish the guilty — if at all one is found guilty. Many a time guilty go unrecognized. But if you are really striving for a corruption-free society, you’ll have to begin at the grassroots level. A place where there are no television cameras. That is where the reality of India lies.