Following the upheavals in Egypt and England, the Indian monsoon against corruption is now in the making.
Not long ago, Baba Ram Dev took up the struggle but was silenced in a counteroffensive mounted by the ruling Congress Party, accusing him of hoarding money and tax evasion.
One of his supporters, Anna Hazare is now pursuing the cause, creating political waves hitherto unseen in India. He has a strong following from a cross-section of the community that transcends the boundaries of race, religion and age.
A retired army driver, Anna has become the most prominent social activist in his home state of Maharashtra. His actions have stirred the moral conscience of India that lay dormant for years. He is demanding tough anti-graft legislation and threatened to fast unto death if the Government failed to act. He was arrested as a preemptive measure, on the pretext of being a threat to public order.
But he began his fast in the infamous Tihar jail and refused to relent until his rights were granted for holding a public hunger strike. It is believed that the authorities capitulated, allowing Anna to do so. Following a compromise, he emerged from jail on August 19 to a rousing welcome by his supporters.
British Journalist Jason Burke wrote in The Guardian about Vishal, “an ordinary man with an ordinary story of corruption in India.”
He said Vishal lives in East Delhi, a part of traffic-choked sprawl of India’s capital.
“He owns a fried chicken takeaway, similar to thousands of others that have sprung up in recent years to serve the new tastes of the burgeoning middle class. And he faces an ordinary Indian daily routine of petty corruption. The number of people Vishal has to pay off is bewildering. There are the local beat constables who take free lunches, while senior police officers who can cause problems with opening hours take ₹10,000 (about $290) on the 10th of each month to allow Vishal to stay open late.”
Transparency International 2010 Report placed India 87th in its Corruption Perception Index in 2010, down from 84 in the previous year. According to a ‘National Bribe Index’ compiled by Outlook magazine, Indians had to bribe officials for birth certificates, passports, ration cards, driving licenses, electricity and water connections, housing plans clearance, bank loans and even for menial jobs.
According to some reports, crime syndicates control vast areas through terror and violence. Many politicians allegedly head these syndicates, get elected to local legislative bodies, state assemblies and parliament. India was therefore ripe for an agitation against corruption.
Anna has put the Government on the back foot, as it is now making conciliatory gestures to reach an amicable resolution. Indians are becoming edgy, with national and international media jostling for prime spots to cover the events as they develop.
Mahatma Gandhi was the measure of moral fibre of his country but modern India is a complete contradiction, with the so-called politicians preaching his ideals but practicing quite the opposite. There is no shortage of preachers, many posing as holy men, some traveling the world in private jets with their universal message of non-violence, love, truth, tolerance and goodwill but sullied by scandals.
The 65-year-old prophecy of former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill appears to have come true, at least to a little extent.
He said, “Power will go to the hands of rascals, rogues, freebooters; all Indian leaders will be of low calibre and men of straw. They will have sweet tongues and silly hearts. They will fight among themselves for power and India will be lost in political squabbles. A day would come when even air and water would be taxed in India.”
It is unfortunate that India’s politicians have become the laughing stock of the world.
But they now have an opportunity to redeem themselves, regain their respect and dignity by accepting the challenge of Anna, who must be seen as an ally for a just cause and not as an adversary.
The Gandhian-cap and loin cloth, still used by politicians, has the power to stir the moral conscience of India and unite a nation against injustice and corruption.
Rajendra Prasad is our columnist, residing in Auckland.
