Now this might come as a surprise to many. I am talking about the two individuals who these days trend on every Indian newspaper. Anna Hazare, the man who is considered to be leading the anti corruption campaign with the support of the entire youth India (as some may say) and Mr ManMohan Singh the current Prime Minister of one of the largest democracies of the world. Now this might look like a cynical wrath but the truth is both of them are sorry figures in the country. My thoughts on why I feel so.
Let us start with Anna. A 70 year old man leading the fight in the Gandhian way against the government for the Jan Lokpal Bill. Fasting from the last 7 days to get the draft of the bill, the way he feels is right. The youth of the entire country supporting him and doing non violent protests in the country. But Anna, is it not for a fact that the country is just using your name and your earlier good deeds to get their anger out? The youth that is supporting you is the one to be blamed for corruption and not just the government.
How many of those who support you would be ready to pay a small amount of donation (which I would bring under the definition of corruption) to get a good college seat. It is the same youth who would pay the traffic constable some bribe to save themselves from a traffic ticket. It is the youth who is ready to abuse the system when they go abroad right from faking cell phone robberies to get new cell phones under the insurance scheme and send the old ones to their relatives back in India. It is the same youth that fakes CVs to get jobs, makes dummies give interviews and would not stop from offering a small bribe to get a good job. Corruption is in the roots of the youth. They might come on the road to support you but will not think twice to do any act of corruption which makes their life easy.
I completely agree with your fight against corruption but the people supporting you makes you look like a sorry figure to me. Your team behind you is also not the ‘saints’ they feel they are and I have spoken about them in the previous blog titled ‘ Anna Hazare: Can we really trust you?’ It was smart of your team to put forward names like Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi after so much of the Bhushans had come to public. And your recent statement that you would be ready to talk to Rahul Gandhi, makes me doubt your credentials. What position of power does he hold in the Indian Democracy legally? I know he is the future PM of India and hence I feel even ManMohan Singh is nothing but a sorry figure
No matter what people say but as a matter of fact ManMohan’s lack of self respect has put the entire democracy to a shame. It was always stated that he was a rubber stamp PM with Sonia Gandhi holding the remote but with has happened off late has made me wonder why will an individual not show any kind of self respect. We all know its Rahul Gandhi who would be the next PM candidate and you are on the seat only till the time he is ready, but in that process you have lost a lot. You have nothing to gain by taking the entire blame and shame that the Congress deserves. You do not have a dynasty to follow nor will you be treated with respect once you leave the post.The fact that people like Anna are also now ready to talk to him is a matter of shame for democracy. Reading a letter in the Parliament when opposition rips you apart will not do any good to your image.
The Congress has played its part. There is a brilliant mastermind behind all this. The common man may not realize this. The common man is happy know there is one Anna they can follow and one MMS they can abuse. But being a true ‘Sardar’ it is time you stand for yourself. Stop people from treating you this way. Stop Congress using you to an extent where people might forget that you were one of the great economist my country ever had.
There is a mind behind all this. Nothing happens from the heart. Gone are the days when the heart ruled the head. But it is time you both use your head and heart and see what you guys have to gain or lose. May be there is a lot to lose than you can imagine. Cause no matter what people say in the times ruled by money, I still feel everything but self respect can be gained again.
Cheers!!
I agree, we are all corrupt and for many reasons, but should we just turn a blind eye coz of our guilt and keep ourselves into inaction and let the government take another 40 yrs to consider the Bill?
ReplyDeleteI dont think so. That 74 yrs yong man without any political mileage or personal gain is fasting unto death for us so it's about time we support him even if we dont know what Jan Lokpal is.
India is Anna and Anna is India !
It's disappointing that he wants to negotiate with Rahul Gandhi but that news is yet not confirmed. Kiran bedi on twitter specified that we never ask for any negotiations as of now. SO it may be media's plan to glorify Rahul G !!
Thanks for posting this. I got an opportunity to have my say here. Let me say here that this bill will not be passed the way Anna wants. I had enough debates about this my friends here and said this again & again that "Guards cannot guard Guards.." What Anna is asking from MPs & PM to pass a bill to have a body which will have a right to investigate themselves. Which will never happen. Moreover, this bill will just give the right for that body to INVESTIGATE and not DECIDE the fate of the MPs or PM. What difference is it gonna make ? If the people can compromise CVC, CBI, Chief Justice and other organizations why not lok pal ? I dont know how much of this everyone understands whoever is supporting Anna but this bill will have no right to punish corrupted people so how will this bill rip out corruption from country ? I agree that people are just taking their anger out via this. I would suggest the goverment to be open hearted and pass the bill by Aug 30th and throw the ball in Anna's court to draft, finalize the bill and elect lok pals. I am sure team Anna will start fighting amongst themselves on who will be part of lok pal etc. We have seen it before when the Bhushans's were part of earlier lok pal couple of months back. Again, this bill certainly will not rip off corruption, people are getting fooled if they have this impression. I would suggest everyone to read more about Lok Pal and THINK and know the weaknesses of this bill. Moreover, if there is a quantity support and people are on road for that does not mean it is right. So this protest on road has to be stopped and police should be released immediately of this tension and team Anna should talk to goverment to discuss points on bill.
ReplyDeleteThis is certainly not the way to fight corruption. Is this bill wants to say that India's judiciary system is not upto the mark to handle any corruption or crime ? I certainly do not think so. There are rules & regulations & laws to handle it, its the people who are not implmenting it and this bill certainly is not changing the people. As I said earlier, this will another body to be compromised if introduced. What needs to be changd is people's attitude, and that wont come in a day. Education system right from KG needs to be refreshed. Curriculam needs to be refined. We are following what british gave us. Have we thought as a country what kind of education pattern we need to have ? what subjects we need to have ? are we a service country or management country ? we have quantity ..we certainly need to think for it's benefit...the reason for not having corruption in US at low level is there is no worry about future...govt pays you enough if you are out of job or retired.....people dont have to think about kid's education, job & marriage after they turn 18...there are enough opportunities for them to survive nicely...back in India we need more money than we earn because we need to worry about all this in future...thats the main cause of corruption....this bill wont adddress that...there is a demand supply gap in India and as long as it is there, corruption will be there and its not India ..its about all other countries who have this gap....again this is all personal opinion...
ReplyDeleteI liked what Umesh had written in second comment. This is EXACTLY the problem is and unless it is addressed, nothing will change. But being said that, personally I think it is not a bad idea to implement one more body of Jan Lok Pak which will above PM and other MPs. I know it all depends on how it is implemented, but I think instead of not doing anything, its better to give a try !!
ReplyDeleteRegarding our PM Manmohan, I do not agree with Kapil's comment/theory that he is being used. He is also equally busy in collecting money as other Congress Party is doing. And I completly agree with you Kapil that it is all gameplan of Congress to elude common man (especially farmers) with the FAKE image of Rahul who can never speak about congress policies for defending corruption and India's growth plans!! Congress party is busy creating his image (which is fake obviously) agaist poor farmers and to showcase him as future PM.
@ Soham: I do not agree that we should support him even without knowing what he is standing for. Bhagat Singh once said 'if we do not know our leaders then even if we gain independence nothing will improve. Power will transfer hands from the English to a few corrupt Indians'
ReplyDeleteUnconditional Support to Anna is just that.
@ Umesh: I completely agree with your opinions and your strong thoughts behind them. it is high time we realize this for a fact.
@ Sanket: How much money can MMS make? He has enough. he should show some self respect now. And yes we are on the same page when it comes to our future PM
@ Umesh: Your thoughts of what Lokpal bill actually is and how it may not be effective shows your understanding of the bill and shows how the people following him are completely devoid of this knowledge
ReplyDelete@Kapil: I never said dont know your leader. People know Anna and his work. people know how much credible he is. People know he is without any blemish image. That's hwy people are following him even though many of them dont understand lokpal bill.
ReplyDeleteWe need to start somewhere. lets clean the top brass of our country and then we can peep into ourselves. The anger and frustration of midle class can be seen on streets.
Soham..I agree with the start somewhere...but surely lok pal is not that start. As I said above in the 2nd comment...there has to be thought process to see if it succeeds or not....Lok pal might have some good intensions but people have been misguided that it will rip off the corruption...again even if Anna is great image...misguideing people like this is not tolerable right..
ReplyDeletewe need to have a THOUGHT PROCESS to even START.....
@Sanky boy..its not a kids play where you start and see if it works and throw away if it doesn't specially when it comes to country....agree ? :)
@Kapil : As per politician is concerned, they do not have any limit how much they want to earn out of corruption and this applies to our PM too.
ReplyDelete@Umesh: There is saying, you cant wait for the day when you will see all signals on road are green and then only you will start to drive. So point is you need to keep trying to resolve issues with some action. Corruption has become major problem for everybody for decades now. Unless and until, you impose strict rules, it cant be avoided. When you are in USA, no one can think of littering on the roads, why?? as everybody knows if caught, there is fine of 1000$ which is a big fine. Same has tried in India for 50Rs fine, but dont know why that has been stopped later on.
You can not just wait til the THOUGHT PROCESS develops in each individual and then corruption will automatically disappears. There are times when strick rules needs to be implemented and people needs to be scared for its implications. Nobody is saying its kids play, but you can not just wait. To change the thought process will take lots of time, may be decades and it involves major growth in India. So I think instead of waiting for this THOUGHT PROCESS to start, there is a need for the action and there is one LEADER who is trying that and I completely SUPPORT him for this act.
@ Kapil n Umesh: I believe thr r hundreds or thousands of things in India for which you can oppose such as population problem, terrorism, foriegn relationships, internal security etc et. including corruption obviously. This list is endless. I know each proposed change, in this case Jan LokPal bill might have some loopholes which can be corrected with proper ammendments in near future. But point is we need such a body in action. If this body would not make any difference, then why any Government had not passed it in parliament in last 40 years? Answer is simple, these politicians are afraid of its implications. If there is atleast 10% chance of helding guilty only 10% corrupt politians, then all politians will never let this bill passed in Parliament.
ReplyDeleteSo being said that, as responsible citizens of this great country, why cant we support such bill, if imposed can make a difference. This bill has not passed in parliament for last 40 years, but never citizens made any voice. But now people are getting united for good cause and pressurizing Govt to pass the correct bill, then why cant we support this?. We are not doing anything for our country here, just discussing and writing blogs/comments, cant we atleast show our support to this good cause?. If there are loopholes in current Jan LokPal bill also, it can be corrected, but thr is no point of opposing this whole great act !!
There is good information available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Lokpal_Bill
if anybody has not gone thru yet.
My intension here not to hurt your thoughts or thinking, but just to unite people for this good cause which we can see after a long time in India :-)
Nicely written. I agree with you that we need to rid ourselves of corrupt practices before pointing finger at the government or participating in the rallies.
ReplyDelete@Sanky..I agree that u cant wait till all the signals are green..good saying..but u cant run through without thinking when the light is red ...may be not as good as saying as urs..but the point is the hype created by this bill will not resolve any issue related to corruption, will not have a start towards it as well...the example you gave about fines in US, think why the cop does not take bribe here....the reasons are mentioned in my 2nd post above...the rules are there in india as well but the person implementing it has survival issues...again mentioned above....rules are not an issue here...its the person's behaviour...if cop would take bribe here..everyone would have paid $50 to him rather than $1000 as fine.....try to understand that point....and certainly this bill will not bring that change in behaviour....this bill will not bring those rules as well..this bill will not punish them as well...so what are you achieving by only investigation....yet another body to be compromised thats it...they say this bill will be over n above CBI..there is already a Central Vigilance Committee (CVC) which is over & above CBI..that also get compromised....what to say abt lokpal then....the hype & misunderstanding created by this movement is wrong....this wont do any good what people are thinking and following...and more important.. expecting....
ReplyDelete@ Soham : I agree its the anger and frustration of the middle class on the streets. And that is what it all is. Its not the cause nor the goal that is in the mind. Also Umesh has a point when he puts his thoughts on the board about Anna's image and the Lokpal bill
ReplyDelete@ Sanket: I agree that we have to start. But we are forgetting that we chose this government and gave them power. Now they are corrupt. What are the odds the Lokpal commitee won't be? Unless and until the people supporting Anna decide to throw corruption out of their lives first, it won't help. And Blogging and commenting is to ensure that they understand that they have a bigger role to play than to be on the streets supporting an image
@ Umesh: I appreciate your thoughts and they way its been put across the board. I, for once, Completely agree with you :-)
@ Zeus: Thanks. Appreciate your writing in.
@ All : Nobody is talking about the poor MMS :-)
ReplyDeleteThe reason for not writing about MMS is he has no say in this and just like an HTML front page with no processing capacity :)...he is a poor guy ..let him be in peace.....:)
ReplyDelete@Kapil: I have shared my views on the Anna movement over here. The Anna Wave and What I Feel.... Though I agree on the Self Respect issue of Manmohan Singh, I cannot agree on the way you are projecting Anna and his Team and calling him a SORRY figure of India. Have a look at the blog post and you may find some points on why I disagree with you.
ReplyDeleteNothing Personal, But it does sound like cynical wrath to me based on the two posts you have written about Anna.
Regarding the Youth that you are commenting as the cause, They are not the one who started the corruption. It slowly evolved from earlier generations and they became a part of the corrupt system. Its just that the current generation has the courage to voice against it. They got the courage to identify and correct their own mistakes and point the mistakes of others.You are blaming the whole for the mistakes of some.
May be I will post a separate post and discuss over there about the Anna Team and some of the misconceptions.
Will add more comments later...
@ bala : Though it may sound as cynical wrath, it is just the truth that people do not want to face..
ReplyDeleteThough Corruption evolved from earlier generation, if it is this generation who wants corruption out and are supporting Anna blindly then we owe ourselves the fact that we should not be corrupted.
I am not blaming the whole for the mistake of some, I am blaming the majority for the mistakes of majority
[quote]Power will transfer hands from the English to a few corrupt Indians'[/quote]
ReplyDeleteIncorrect Kapil ........ it was Winston Churchill who said that ....just after England granted us Independence.
@ Nikhil: Bhagat Singh said that in the movie ' The legend of Bhagat Singh' lol
ReplyDeleteAnd you are catching the wrong end of the stick..lol