Friday, August 19, 2011

Anna Hazare

What is this phenomenon called Anna Hazare? Why does his 'movement' attract so many people? What will be the possible outcome of this struggle?
First and foremost. People are sick of corruption. They are sick of misgovernance. They are sick of politicians, policemen and other aspects of the 'State' that governs us. And they do not know what to do about it.
Who is Anna Hazare? He evokes the symbolism of the Mahatma by the way he dresses. His poor diction makes him endearing and his age makes him an object of respect. His followers - Kejriwal, Bhushan and Bedi are shrewd tacticians who have succesfully used Anna's image for driving towards their own objectives.
Indians love democracy but they hate politicians. In other words, many of us feel that the 'Structure' of democratic institutions - parliamentary democracy, judicial institutions etc do not work. It's not that we want a dictatorship. We want a catharsis, a cleansing of the body politic. A reform of the way that Democracy works in India.
Anna offers hope for that. Corruption is an emotionally charged issue with which Anna and his team seeks to drive a stake through the heart of the corrupt edifice that democracy has become in India.
Make no mistake. Anna and his team have a larger agenda - Reform of India's moribund democratic institutions is what they are driving at. Corruption is only the first of the issues that will come up in the succeeding months.

No comments:

Post a Comment