India today has certainly moved from being known as the land of 'Haves' & 'Have nots' to the land of those who ' Are Anna' and who are 'Not Anna'.
When, the India Against Corruption movement first started in April 2011, I was excited and happy to see that so many Indians felt so strongly about this cause. The fact the government agreed to consider the Jan Lokpal bill was definitely an achievement for Anna and team. But what followed is what left me disillusioned.
The demands for an independent body, which completely supersedes and oversees all other power centres in this country is no less than creating a Frankenstein's monster. Our democracy functions well, because the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary are answerable to each other. Resting all power in one person or one institution is against the very spirit of democracy.
What we need is definitely a strong Lokpal, which can investigate and bring the guilty to book as soon as possible. But what we don't need is another power center.
I am sure this is a great moment in Indian history, because for the first time we are witnessing a revolution by the 'Indian Middle Class', the same middle class, which prefers to stay indoors on election day. The same middle class, which sees FTV as a threat to Indian culture and traditions, but cannot live without its M'D Burgers and Italian Pastas.
Even today, we would have let this go by as another 'newsy' day in the life of India, if it had not affected us directly.
Having no control on the rising prices and our own depleting wealth, when all we hear is of millions the Kalmadis and Rajas are making by skimming the government and its systems (our hard earned money payed as taxes), is what makes this more personal for us middle class, what propels us to step out of our comfortable homes, brave the rains and show our support for anything and anyone who is ready to stand up against corruption.
Like Victor Hugo said, "There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come". It is time for India to rise against and fight the evil of corruption, because the time is right and the time is now.
But more than fighting for a magic formula that will help corruption vanish, it is time to look within each of us and see how we will fight the lure of this fancy demon, which in the short run promises to make life easy.
What I am trying to say here is that, corruption in India is a way of life and it will take more than a Jan Lokpal Bill to eradicate it.
Not sure, how many of you have sensed this change and awakening in the course of this last week, but if you have not managed to share your views explicitly on 'India's anti-corruption movement' and shown your support for it, you probably have managed to earn yourself one of the following tags - 'Is Corrupt', 'Congress Supporter', 'Too uptight to bother about your country'.
You are doomed, if you take the middle ground and be the voice of reason and sanity in this deluge of emotional patriotism, to the point that you will be threatened and even questioned about your nationality.
When, the India Against Corruption movement first started in April 2011, I was excited and happy to see that so many Indians felt so strongly about this cause. The fact the government agreed to consider the Jan Lokpal bill was definitely an achievement for Anna and team. But what followed is what left me disillusioned.
The demands for an independent body, which completely supersedes and oversees all other power centres in this country is no less than creating a Frankenstein's monster. Our democracy functions well, because the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary are answerable to each other. Resting all power in one person or one institution is against the very spirit of democracy.
What we need is definitely a strong Lokpal, which can investigate and bring the guilty to book as soon as possible. But what we don't need is another power center.
I whole heartedly support the India Against Corruption Movement and firmly believe that if we can eradicate this menace, we will definitely be better off as a nation. I also believe that Anna Hazare's fast has been a huge factor in bringing the Indian masses together to fight for a common cause, quite commendable in a country where people tend to be quite opinionated about almost everything.
My problem is with our approach to this whole issue. I find it to be too simplistic and immature.
Do we really believe that a bill will solve all our problems? That the day the Jan Lokpal Bill is passed, all the unscrupulous in this country will turn scrupulous overnight?
If it were that simple, the existing laws would have ensured a cleaner social system, anyway.
As I see it, the fault partly lies with who we are and partly with what we expect as a nation.
Coming to the first part of it, I think corruption in this country is more a culture thing than an alien parasite eating into our value system.
We are used to bribing, God for getting our prayers answered, children for getting them to fulfill our wishes, anybody else if it helps in getting things done our way.
We also hate standing in queues or waiting for things to get done at their natural pace and don't mind paying that extra if we have the means to speed up things, be it for the ration card, the election id card or the driving license.
As a nation we are very aspirational and big show offs, sometimes these aspirations to own things and show off go beyond what our legal means will afford us.
I am sure this is a great moment in Indian history, because for the first time we are witnessing a revolution by the 'Indian Middle Class', the same middle class, which prefers to stay indoors on election day. The same middle class, which sees FTV as a threat to Indian culture and traditions, but cannot live without its M'D Burgers and Italian Pastas.
Even today, we would have let this go by as another 'newsy' day in the life of India, if it had not affected us directly.
Having no control on the rising prices and our own depleting wealth, when all we hear is of millions the Kalmadis and Rajas are making by skimming the government and its systems (our hard earned money payed as taxes), is what makes this more personal for us middle class, what propels us to step out of our comfortable homes, brave the rains and show our support for anything and anyone who is ready to stand up against corruption.
Like Victor Hugo said, "There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come". It is time for India to rise against and fight the evil of corruption, because the time is right and the time is now.
But more than fighting for a magic formula that will help corruption vanish, it is time to look within each of us and see how we will fight the lure of this fancy demon, which in the short run promises to make life easy.
What I am trying to say here is that, corruption in India is a way of life and it will take more than a Jan Lokpal Bill to eradicate it.
What we need is not a revolution (how does one revolt against oneself) but a social movement where each individual promises to play his part, whether it is by refusing to pay the bribe to jump a queue or weather it is to say no to an offer of fulfilled aspirations in return of a favor.
What we are fighting for is again dangerous, we are holding our elected government to ransom and demanding the legislature to speed up the political process of passing a bill, without much debate and discussion, so that we can see a happy conclusion to 'our revolution' and go back home with a sense of achievement that it was a job well done. But then how are we different from the corrupt who use force or money to get their way?
It would be dreadful if we manage to get the bill passed and then go back to our normal lives - paying Rs. 100 as bribe to the 'thoola' or 'mamu' at the chawk after jumping a red light to avoid a challan.....
What we are fighting for is again dangerous, we are holding our elected government to ransom and demanding the legislature to speed up the political process of passing a bill, without much debate and discussion, so that we can see a happy conclusion to 'our revolution' and go back home with a sense of achievement that it was a job well done. But then how are we different from the corrupt who use force or money to get their way?
It would be dreadful if we manage to get the bill passed and then go back to our normal lives - paying Rs. 100 as bribe to the 'thoola' or 'mamu' at the chawk after jumping a red light to avoid a challan.....
