Sudhansu R Das
Anna Hazare has broken his long silence after dissolving Team Anna’s anti corruption saga. The social activist has declared his action plan to start a nation-wide campaign to achieve inclusive democracy in the country. Anna said he would try to ensure the victory of good people irrespective of party line in the coming election. He has already got 4000 volunteers including former Army Chief V K Singh to start his cleanse democracy campaign in India. When people at his age except politicians happily retire, Anna at 74 has shown exemplary courage and zeal to reform Indian body politics with his clean public image – a supreme effort, which has never happened in the Indian political history.
The Magsaysay Award winner, Anna Hazare is no ordinary human being to accept offer from political party. He has chosen to be non political. He knows how to wade through allurements which only brightens his image before his countrymen. A few politicians in India can match Anna’s integrity, character and sense of purpose which are the main ingredients of a genuine mass leader.
When he started the biggest mass movement in the post independent India, he was equipped with a bank balance of Rs 60000 in his pass book, Rs 3000 cash in hand, a successful sustainable economic development model at Ralegaon Sidhi village and his personal character built upon sacrifice, truth, purity and integrity. The entire world witnessed what happened after that. Anna’s social movement has not only inspired millions of people in India, it has started similar kind of movements in many Asian and European nations.
When people were convinced that Anna was not for personal gain, they came pouring in his protest venue. T-shirts and caps with Anna’s photos were sold and social activists units were formed even in the farthest north east corner of India. Today even illiterate people do not come to politicians, venue on their own unless they are given money, food and transportation facility. It happens because most of the political parties has lost their credibility. The entire scenario shows how common man wants to have a respite from corruption, poor governance, intellectual jugglery, economic jargons and legal mischief which were in use to scuttle healthy democracy.
In fact, the vacuum created in political field due to credibility erosion, provides a golden opportunity to political parties to mend their ways and regain people’s trust not through guile or hype but through visible good work, transparency and simplicity.
Whatever may be the tag on Narendra Modi or Nitish Kumar they have achieved which looked unachievable for Gujarat and Bihar some ten years back. The canal from Bharuch to Kutch dry land is an exemplary achievement of Narendra Modi. In some areas of development, Narendra Modi’s achievement is world class. But Modi and Nitish still need more scanners to watch the erring development projects. The economic benefit in Gujarat and Bihar percolates to people beyond religious line.
When Anna Hazare’s agitation for Jan Lokpal lost its edge in political maze, he realized the root cause of all evil is lack of political inclusion in this country. He has chosen the right path to create public awareness among people for healthy democracy. But, Anna has to go a long way to achieve total political inclusion in the country.
Only a true hero can look for long way and not the dummies of heroes who look for short cut. Arvind Kejriwal the emerging young leader of the cleanse democracy campaign though has declared to form a new political party with like minded people, he has to face many challenges in order to consolidate his party in the 2014 election.
It is a brave start which needs patience to achieve the much needed transparency in public life. Winning election is different ball game in India where money, muscle, caste, populism, language divide and vote banks play a crucial role in deciding election results. Initially Kejriwala may have good people.
When his party will grow in size it will assimilate a whole lot of junk yard. Because, the political, social, academic and cultural institutions have malfunctioned to create poor quality human resources for governance. For example the health sector where MBBS degrees are given to students who can pay Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore donation. If nation cannot give seats on merit to produce quality doctors its health sector is bound to suffer.
People who pay lakhs of rupees donation to get a seat will make up their losses in the first five years. This is the reason why many doctors are on the unofficial pay rolls of medicine farms. The malfunctioning of those institutions manifest into deep rooted corruption. This has become the biggest threat to India as we don’t have quality people whom we can give top jobs in different sectors. “If gold rusts what shall iron do,” noted Geoffrey Chaucer the 14 th century English poet in his book “Prologue to the Canterbury Tales.”
Whether Anna Hazare’s social movement to cleanse democracy can convert the vote banks into healthy voters who can elect their true representatives? Whether he can prevent millions of gullible voters from accepting sarees, sweet, local site seeing package, free food, subsidy, Rs 500 note and liquor bottles during election ? Whether Anna can change the yes men brown saheebs who are apt in showcasing donkeys as horses and the vice versa with smart paper work? Whether Anna can bring the entire media behind in his struggle for political inclusion?
India needs one dozen Anna Hazares to change the attitude of people who will take up politics as social work. Without organization network, fund, man power, political and media support Anna may have to tread a long path alone. While walking alone, he may gather millions of supporter behind him. The 2014 Lok Sabha elections will decide the fate of the nation. It will be the second Kurukshetra of India.
The battle between satan and god which dwells in human mind. Indians have pushed their own nation into bottomless pit. India which deserves to be the leading light for the entire world which is infested with greed and selfish endeavor is itself confused and lost its path in the maze of spurious cultures. India desperately needs a leader with true intellect who can guide the nation out of the bottomless pit.
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