‘We’re watching India being carved up in war for suzerainty that is as deadly as any battle being waged by the warlords of Afghanistan, only with much, much more at stake’ is the sentence by Arundhati Roy (Article in Hindu editorial dated 21/08/2011) to describe the recent movement launched by team Anna against corruption. The point made by Ms. Roy is completely lost upon me or it is quite possible that I am not enlightened enough to understand her.
I started article in hope for getting something substantial against recent movement or may be some innovative and different solution to achieve corruption free society. After all a society cannot be vibrant until there exists different views on different matters. But instead of providing a different solution or giving something substantial against team Anna it was completely directed towards berating them and discrediting them.
According to her, we can find one common in ‘Jan Lokpal bill’ and the Moists: both seek the overthrow of Indian state. Now if we consider ‘Jan Lokpal bill’, it may has the flaws and according to my understanding the movement is not to make government adopt exact version of ‘Jan Lokpal Bill’, but for a bill which is prepared by the consensus of the government and civil society and which contains the best of both version and in turn provides a strong and accountable Lokpal to root out corruption out of India. And how this bill can overthrow the Indian state is beyond my comprehension.
She terms Jan Lokpal Bill as a draconian anti corruption bill where huge power will be vested in Lokpal to watch the government from higher level to lower level. Corruption is so widespread that some institution is needed to be on watch for the behavior of public institution and if vesting power in Lokpal to do the watching, is draconian then I certainly do aspect from Ms. Roy to suggest some alternative. But instead what I get is the example of what will happen when Lokpal come in picture: example of a shopping mall where streets hawkers are banned and they pay small sum to local police and municipality to break the law and sell their wares to those who cannot afford prices in malls. Now if Lokpal comes in picture there would be two possibilities: either they would be driven out or they have to pay even to one more institution (Lokpal) for encroaching. So according to her, Lokpal is one more power structure and people will find themselves entangled in one more layer of bureaucracy. I might accept the possibilities but what about millions of poor Indians who don’t have money for their sustenance but they have to bribe government employee to get the social service for which they are entitled or do not get it at all because the money intended for the service never reaches them. Does she want to continue this system and not to have any remedies at all? A hawker or even she might be able to pay his/her way through but millions of Indians cannot. We need to have something; this cannot continue and if you cannot provide the alternative solution then just shut up.
Then she talks of different movement held in different part of company. Fast of Anna is highlight of news channel but this fast doesn’t mean anything if it’s of Irom Sharmila (lasted for more than 10 years against AFSPA). I accept that, her fast means a lot and I ask her why don’t she do something about it and why she doesn’t mobilize people in the way team Anna is doing for him instead of moaning about it. A Movement needs not to be exclusionary and it also does not discredit other movements. The way she describes the movement happening around the different company against displacement and different development project as that Lokpal movement is discrediting them all. It’s like you offer food to a hungry person and then being criticized for ignoring thousands others who are hungry. Is this justified? And who says movement against displacement and development project by people will not be anti corruption movement. Isn’t the massive displacement of people and degradation of forest by corporate world is result of corrupt nexus between corporate and politician. Won’t all these projects be under the scanner of lokpal which might be able to do minimal damage to the common man?
She discredits Arvind Kejriwal’s NGO and others for accepting millions of dollars from corporate and also question of involvement of corporate in movement. First of all you just can’t blame a dedicated person like Arvind Kejriwal without corroborating his personal gain from the contribution. Many NGO get benefitted from corporations and they cannot do without it. Can we refute the NGO related to polio vaccination etc for taking donation from Bill and Melinda Gates foundation?
She also questions about Anna Hazare’s secular credentials and his views on casteism. I don’t think that is relevant here. He is not trying to facture the Indian society or trying to mobilize support for a community or building a temple or mosque. It’s a question of national importance and I don’t know how the question of religious or caste inclination find a way here.
I do not agree with media impersonating Anna Hazare as Mahatma Gandhi nor do I term the team Anna as saint for spearing the movement. I do not deny that there could be other motives also. But what I think is that they are fighting against something which is really a social malaise and in the process they are not harming any one. So what’s wrong in supporting or more, turning this towards something really right? It’s not like venom spewed by a politician for their personnel gain. It’s a movement to unite the people not fragment them. If the movement succeeds it might result in something good. The original ‘Jan Lokpal Bill’ is full of flaw (which is accepted by Arvind Kejriwal, he said that he never wanted it to be passed in original form but wanted it to be discussed and debated for something good to be come out of it) but that can be corrected by consultation and discussion. We don’t have scarcity of intelligent and thoughtful man to look into that. Let’s not deviate from the issue and if we have problem with it then let’s give an alternative solutions. Nothing else is accepted other than that. Jai hind (I’ll say that and you cannot stop me from doing that by terming it as cheap movement propaganda :P ).
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