Winds of Change in India

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Winds of Change


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Winds of changeUday Dandavate

May 22nd, 2011

By announcing a fast unto death to force the government to engage

the representatives of civil society in drafting of a Lok Pal Bill, Anna

Hazare has ignited the conscience of the nation. A nation benumbed

by a series of corruption scandals sees in Anna Hazare a ray of hope.

It was surprising to read the reaction of veteran journalist B.G.

Verghese to Anna Hazares fast when he wrote A fast unto death is

coercive and undemocratic and amounts to emotional blackmail,

which undermines parliamentary democracy.

I have never had any doubts about the significance of Anna Hazares

movement. This is not the first time that the instrument of fast has

stirred the conscience of a nation. Mahatma Gandhi used fast as a

part of his experiments with using Soul Force or Truth Force for

political action. The essential aspect of fast being the character of the

person undertaking a fast. A leader of impeccable character such as

Mahatma Gandhi could use it to even stop a communal riot in Bengal.Lord Mountbatten acknowledged the impact of Mahatma Gandhis

fast in his memoirs, while 55,000 man boundary force in Punjab was

swamped by riots the one-man boundary force brought peace toBengal'In 1974,Chimanbhai's government in Gujrat fell amidst mass civicunrest as a result of the Nav Nirman movementl lead by Umashankar


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Mankad, Manishi Jani an others. Gujarat then went under President's

Rule. Through1975 the Central Govermnent led by Mrs. Indira

Gandhi was dilly-dallying with the election schedule. Morarjibhai

Desai fasted and got the Government to declare the election dates,

even if they fell in the middle of the summer heat. The election

resulted in the victory of the Janata Morcha and election of Babubhai

Jashbhai Patel as the Chief Minister perhaps within days of the

Emergency proclamation. The impact of Morarjibhais fastwas not

limited to restoration of a democratic government in Gujarat alone. It

contributed significantly in building momentum for JPs movement for

Total Revolution.

After reading Mr. B.G. Verghese comments I made it a point to visit

Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi where Anna Hazare was meeting with a

small group of journalists from Maharashtra. One of the reporters

asked him for his reaction to the accusation that he was undermining

the institution of Parliament. Annas response was,

In a true democracy people are supreme. It is the people who

empower the village Panchayat. A strong village panchayat will

empower the institution of the state legislature and a strong state

legislature will bring power and dignity to the Parliament. As a

humble villager my movement aims at strengthening democracy

at the grass root level, from village panchayat up. I am alarmed

that the elected representatives in the Parliament often forget

where their true strength comes from- from the villages of India. I


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am not undermining the democratic institution. On the contrary I

am trying to strengthen it by awakening the people in the villages.

I will travel all over India and mobilize people against the

corruption that is eating up the roots of our democracy.

Annas comments brought back memories of growing up in a socialist

family. I was not fortunate enough to see Mahatma Gandhi in action.

However, I did participate in Jayaprakash Narayans march to the

Parliament in March 1975 and have met him several times. During

the dark days of emergency I have had the opportunity to meet with

many of the leaders of the underground movement and have

witnessed at close quarters the indomitable spirit of those imprisoned

by Mrs. Indira Gandhi. As I grew up amidst the socialist fraternity and

later amidst various iterations of the Janata party, Janata Dal,

National Front and United Front. I have had the opportunity to meet

both the opportunists and the reformers. I can say with humility that

sitting in front of Anna Hazare I was overcome by the same emotion I

felt when I met Jayprakash Narayan at the Express Towers in

Mumbai. Listening to his response reminded me of the humble

interactions SM Joshi would have with the press (who we fondly

referred to as Anna as well), his clarity of thought reminded me of

N.G. Goray, and his resolute facial expression reminded me of my

own father who never let political maneuvers distract him from his

focus on his ideals. I could feel winds of change sitting in front of

Anna Hazare.


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Annas movement has created skeptics as well. For example Praveen

Mishra, co-founder of the New Socialist Party in Gujarat wrote in his

article in Ahmedabad Mirror, titled, Peoples Victory, Really?

I saw celebrations similar to those of India winning the World

Cup. Noise, tricolours, drums, dance, police, chaos, cameras,

and plenty of saffron. With Bharat Mata as the most prominent

symbol and pro-Hindutva slogans, I felt I was in the midst of a

Ram Mandir movement. The posters and banners of babas and

god men dominated ground zero. It appeared to me a very well

scripted political drama and not a spontaneous apolitical

movement. I could witness several political boundaries and sixes

being scored in this shorter version of the protest. With peaceful

satyagrah and aggressive nationalism on display, I saw Gandhi

and Godse coming together.

As I read through Praveens column, I was reminded of the post

emergency Janata Party days when a section of the socialist

fraternity, led by veteran leader Madhu Limaye, persistently raised

hue and cry, over the designs of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

(RSS) in using the Jan Sangh ingredient of the Janata Party to

pursue its communal agenda. While the members of erstwhile Jan

Sangh continued to use their presence in the government to plant

RSS cadres in positions of influence, the radical socialists engineered

a split in the Janata Party and brought about the downfall of the first

ever non-congress government at the national level. Distressed at the

destruction of his instrument of Total Revolution, Jayaprakash


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Narayan, responded in despair, Hamara Baag Udhvastha Ho gaya.

(Our garden has been destroyed). The fall of Janata Government did

not stop the Jan Sangh from spreading its influence. In due course

they formed the Bharatiya Janata Party and gained public sympathy

as a party that stood by the peoples movement. Events of later years

have proved that though Shri Madhu Limayes diagnosis of the

situation was accurate and his predictions about RSS long term

designs prophetic, his prescription in bringing about a downfall of the

Janata party by feeding the ambitions of Shri Charan Singh to

become the Prime Minister, discredited the socialist movement in the

eyes of voters and planted the seeds of politics of opportunism. It is

no surprise that some of the proponents of the decision to bring down

the Janata party government have over the years ultimately aligned

with the Bharatiya Janata Party and even become ministers in the

National Democratic Aliance governments at the center and in states.

It is important to learn from the events of 1979. In my view Anna

Hazare has his hand on nations pulse and has galvanized the youth.

As always, opportunist elements will hover around him and try to

draw maximum mileage out of the movement. However, I do believe

that the core team around Anna Hazare is a team of impeccable

secular credentials and there is a need for progressive forces to rally

around Anna Hazare and co-create a vision of a progressive and just

India.


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As the UPA completes its second year in office, there are still two

more years before the next election, for the progressive forces to

harness the energy and the hope generated by Anna Hazares

movement into a new model of development and a new vision for the

future of India through participation of the youth.

Anna Hazares movement is a warning to those elected

representatives who have abused Indian democracy by turning it into

a business. Over the years numerous scams have made people

realize that elected representatives have allowed themselves to

become tradable commodities. Rather than political alignments along

ideas or ideologies, we are witnessing mushrooming of small political

parties, each hoping to extract its own bargaining power, a lucrative

ministry and a leverage to make a deal with the Prime Minister or the

Chief Minister. The idea of denying professional politicians a platform

at the Jantar Mantar in Delhi resonated well with the audience

because the corrupt politicians have discredited the political class

through pursuit of power.

The Congress party has played a big role in undermining the

democratic institution of India. In 2004 when Dr. Manmohansingh

took over as the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyar

succinctly articulated what was on every congressmans mind. During

an interview with CNN he commented on Sonia Gandhis much

publicized renunciation of power, She's the queen, she is appointing

a regent to run some of the government's business. But it is she who


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will be in charge. What an irony- we have a Prime Minister whose

constitutional authority is not acknowledged by his own party. He

would have brought dignity to his office had he contested a direct

election to the Lok Sabha. He instead took refuge in a technicality in

electoral law and entered Rajya Sabha from Assam by manipulating

the records of his domicile. He devalued his own office by presiding

over a cabinet decision to create a National Advisory Council (NAC),

which legitimizes the sway of Mrs. Sonia Gandhi over the government

affairs. Congress party has made a mockery of democracy and

undermined the supremacy of people by installing a Prime Minister

who is shy of contesting a direct election. The Constitution of India

only recognizes three pillars of democracy, the Judiciary, the

Executive and the Parliament. The Congress party has built a new

pillar to the power structure by instituting the office of the National

Advisory Council that empowers Mrs. Sonia Gandhi with no

accountability. Congress Party is obliquely projecting Sonia Gandhi

as a benevolent dictator of India.

The immense energy of Anna Hazares movement has forced the

Congress Party into a firefighting mode to protect its prospects at the

next election. The public anger against corruption has forced UPA II

to start taking action against the corrupt members of the alliance.

After following the grand old tradition of encouraging or neglecting

money laundering as a perk for their support in coalition politics,

action is now being taken against corrupt politicians. Congress

members like Suresh Kalmadi and alliance partners such as


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Karunanidhi now look bewildered at the holier than thou attitude of

the Congress Party. They suspect this to be a new strategy of

ditching the alliance partners before the next election by discrediting

them and taking credit for, what has never been Congress strength-

clean politics. It was ironic that after agreeing to Civil Societys

demand for a joint committee to draft the Lok Pal Bill, Rahul Gandhi,

Congress Partys heir apparent, made a claim counter to Congress

Partys reputation. While acknowledging the support Anna Hazare

has received from people, he said- Congress Party has always

fought against corruption. Having lost elections several times in the

past on the issue of Corruption, Congress Party recognizes that

allegations of corruption easily stick to the Congress Partys brand.

The current mood of the nation does not serve the Congress Party

well.

Anna Hazares shadow will loom large in the next election. His recent

meeting in Gowhati attracted a large turnout. By distancing his

movement from professional politicians Anna is defining a new niche

to be filled with people who bring a new vision for modern India.

Nitish Kumar, Naveen Patnaik, and Mamta Banerjee have already

learned that in order to win the hearts of their constituents they have

to maintain enough distance from discredited National parties and

alliances. The next election will not be a choice between Congress

and the BJP. BJP failed to sell its India Shining campaign. Congress

Party will have a hard time selling its newfound activism against


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corruption as being credible. The Nation is looking for a new

alternative. It is time to rally around Anna and provide that alternative.

Winds of Change in India

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