Declared as Anti-Corruption, in reality an Anti-Congress Campaign

This nation is facing the worst assault on the intellectual faculties of its citizens after British rule. A phase that is even far more serious than the emergency of 1974. It is the era of absence of factual news reporting and balanced representation in media debates. A fraud of tailor made propaganda with a definite goal. The perpetration of this injustice is carried out by the private media channels mushrooming by the dozens which instead of reporting facts are concocting stories, imagining revolutions, boosting TRPs and USPs by instigating mob frenzy. This nation is grappled with the problem of an urban minded Young India which thinks it has a knowledge of issues whereas in reality it is ignorant of basic truths and principles in India’s politics. It is a young India for which Face Book and Twitter is the real world. This offers perfect fodder for the fascist and capitalist forces. With Communists licking their wounds from the W.Bengal humiliating defeat, it increasingly appears that these forces are out to seek revenge against the people of India by destroying the nation. Only this can explain the unholy marriage of the Left with the Right on the issue of corruption. The present tamasha seems more of a repeat of yet another event of political opportunism like that of 1975. In that game the stature and sincerity of Jay Prakash Narayan got exploited. At least Jay Prakash Narayan had an ideology behind his ‘Sampurnn Kranti’. In this case the good intentions and naivity of 7th standard pass Anna Hazare is being exploited by political adventurists.
The Anna crusade has been highlighted far more than what it actually deserves. The theatrics and rhetoric of a negligible section of Indians is mischievously portrayed as the voice of millions. When it is more than evident that right-wing sympathisers and supporters are behind the numbers at various points in Delhi and around the nation, the media is cleverly concealing the ideological leanings of the campaigners by emphasising their professions. It is well known that a large chunk of upper caste ex-army men, housewives, students and IT professionals have leanings towards the hard-core right-wing political groups. That a huge chunk from among these believe that India belongs only to the Hindus and that Mahatma Gandhi was a construct of the British. We have no problems with the right wing taking up the issue but let it be done openly. Let the people of this country make a free choice rather than be hoodwinked into supporting a movement which is claimed to be secular and free form political party influences.
But this is the irony. We are made to believe that a revolution is on the cards and India is on the verge of a second independence by a second apostle of non-violence and satyagraha. Some leader from a remote village gets installed as a Gandhian over night in Delhi and creates all gimmicks to ensure his ticket to Tihar jail and then refuses to leave even when released while Babas, Swamys and Sri Sris gradually emerge among the assembled crowds of so portrayed innocent housewives, ex-service men, students, rickshaw drivers and so on. While protest marches in his Ralegaon village get televised, the entire district of Ahmednagar just remains uncovered. Why? What is the truth about Anna’s so proclaimed Gandhian revolution in Ralegaon? His white Kurta and Gandhi topi? His declaration about Bhagat Singh being his inspiration? His proclamation of Modi and Nitish’s governments as models of good governance?
And even before the movement against corruption took off at Jantar Mantar a couple of months back, we could guess that this is more of an Anti-Congress struggle than an Anti-Corruption crusade. The innocent faces of the Archbishop and Imam of Delhi began to be used to portray a secular image of the movement. Voices about a systemic change and not only a Lok Pal Bill are now being heard. Lok Pal is suddenly forgotten and suddenly the survival of democracy has become more crucial for the Bhushans. Anti-Congress slogans take over the dharnas. We are all aware that the fascists are aiming for a total over hauling of the democratic Constitution. This generation of loss of faith and cynicism in the judicial and political system among the young is one step towards this realisation. A well rehearsed and cleverly constructed cleansing of the democratic institution may well be the gate way to a total loss of democracy.
Even though we have little sympathies for the Congress party which is corrupt to the core, it’s Government is in a pitiable condition. It’s choice is between the devil and the deep blue sea. To be in Government is itself a disadvantage with a nation not known to self-introspect but project its often self-generated problems on politicians. A Young India that takes pride in violating traffic laws, jumping traffic signals, using banned substances, driving under influence of alcohol and running down the poor sleeping on pavements. This very Young India will not stop from using influence to get the criminal case hushed up or weakened. And yet, it will shamelessly stand up to protest against corruption. This is a nation that cannot manage its affairs without a police on 24 hour watch at every street corner. But in the same breath it will curse the political establishment.
That the Congress Government should have permitted Anna to go to JP grounds in defiance of prohibitory orders and court arrest is too naive a solution for a complex and scheming political opposition. Mind you these comments and suggestions come from arm chair experts and analysts who have never dirtied their feet on the campaign trail for elections. Should the mob have turned aggressive on reaching JP Park and the police were compelled to lathi charge and burst tear gas, how would this very nation and media channels have responded to the action? Again if Anna had courted arrest at JP Park peacefully and then refused to leave detention until allowed to do what he wishes to do, would the situation have been any different? There is little doubt that the anti-corruption script is written in Nagpur and endorsed in the U.S. by so claimed patriotic NRIs. The argument does not end here. Let us assume the right-wing group was in government. What would have been their response? A gang of hoodlums set loose to paint Anna’s face black? A counter movement to support the Government and discredit the Jan Lok Pal team. This is the cruel reality of Indian politics not understood by the modern consumeristic strata of middle class society.
A mob can never understand reason. And that is what this movement against corruption has turned out to be. A mob which has gone berserk and lost its power reason. A mob with no ideology and no leadership except TV stars. A mob where emotions have taken over their cognitive faculties. Who can convince a mob that the root cause of corruption lies somewhere else. That it is the neglect of the call given by Mahatma Gandhi given soon after independence that the first rung of leaders in the Indian National Congress keep out of government and go to the villages to build the moral fabric of this nation if democracy is to prosper. But just like JP’s Total Revolution got dumped no sooner the Janata Party got elected, Mahatma Gandhi was silenced by these very forces that now pretend to cry for India. At this juncture all we can do is only pray to God to show the path of Truth to this nation.
God Save India!