When somebody in India, fights for a cause halfway good, The Government starts to probe them. Ironic? But that's how it is. We are corrupt (but that was the obvious part ) . On the World Corruption Index, we rank #87. That's not good- Because No.1 ( Denmark) happens to be least corrupt, So the further down India finds herself on the chart, it spells more trouble. Our neighbours on that list are Morocco , Jamaica and Malawi. (This doesn't look good at all , does it? )
So coming back to the point : A gentleman named Anna Hazare decided to take things into his own hands.
This is not the first time that Anna has tried to work for the upliftment of the people of India, Either. Picture This :
1975 :Ralegaon Siddhi ( Maharashtra ) : Anna Hazare returned to his village , after working for the Indian Army. Looking at the pitiable state of Ralegaon Siddhi , Anna applied the Gandhian principles to this village.He urged the youth to lead the movement. He encouraged the upliftment of women .Soon there were solar panels , wind mills and biogas stations in Ralegaon. He completely uprooted Alcohol consumption. And guess what-Even today, Ralegaon is completely alcohol-free and the selling of beedis and cigarettes are banned , all thanks to Anna's initiative. Besides this, he did his best to remove untoucability and conducted watershed management programmes. Thus, he made Ralegaon an ideal place to live in and a model for other villages to emulate.
1991 : In 1991 Hazare launched the Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Aandolan (BVJA) (People's Movement against Corruption), a popular movement to fight against corruption, again in Ralegaon.
In the early 2000s : Hazare led a movement in Maharashtra which forced the state government to pass a stronger Maharashtra Right to Information Act. This Act was later considered as the base document for the Right to Information Act 2005 (RTI), enacted by the Union Government.
2011 : Hazare began his fast unto death on 5 April 2011 at Jantar Mantar in Delhi to press for the demand to form a joint committee of the representatives of the Government and the civil society to draft a stronger anti-corruption bill with stronger penal actions and more independence to the Lokpal and Lokayuktas .After his demand was rejected by Mr. Manmohan Singh. He stated, "I will fast until Jan Lokpal Bill is passed".
The movement attracted attention in the media, and thousands of supporters. Almost 150 people reportedly joined Hazare in his fast.Social activists, including Medha Patkar, Arvind Kejriwal, former IPS officer Kiran Bedi, and Jayaprakash Narayan lent their support to Hazare's hunger strike and anti-corruption campaign. Many other celebrities showed their public support through the internet and other means. Hazare decided that he would not allow any politician to sit with him in this movement.
The Parliament says- Fasting is undemocratic, Hazare is taking law into his own hands.
I believe that the person who heads the movement is as important as the movement itself. Take for instance, Gandhiji. He was firm, balanced, strong-willed and principled. Naturally, People had faith in him and his doctrines. Hazare has an approach very similar to Gandhiji , as he is already proving.
It is indeed quite ridiculous to try and taint him, simply because he is just a common man. The government CLAIMS to be working for the "aam aadmi" but are they really?
*Mahatma Gandhi*
To Mahatma Gandhi , fasting was an important method of exerting mental control over base desires. In his autobiography, Gandhi analyzes the need to fast to eradicate his desire for delicious, spicy food. He believed that abstention would diminish his sensual faculties, bringing the body increasingly under the mind's absolute control. Gandhi was opposed to the partaking of meat, alcohol, stimulants, salt and most spices, and also eliminated different types of cooking from the food he ate. Gandhiji believed that putting ones own body under pain is one of the best ways of gaining the enemy/ wrong-doers attention.
Now India cannot tell , If being colonized is worse or the current mess that we face - Nepotism[One Mr.Karunanidhi is a fine example ] , Corruption, "Banana Republic" [?]
I for one was pretty proud of Anna. Atleast somebody is trying to do SOMETHING about the common man's seemingly hopeless situation.
Will India pass the Acid Test ? Only time will tell.....
