What we felt today was a surge of pride. In Indian democracy. In the idea of people power. It was time for the two to meet. Because for a long time, they have existed in isolation.
Today instead of uncultured politicians throwing chairs and abuses at each other, we saw in Lok Sabha, a certain erudition, a sense of decorum and purpose, a debate that was not party- centric but nation-centric and cut through pettiness and one-upmanship to discuss in measured tones, issues, questions and concerns that are central to the way we function as a country. Miraculous, yes?
Today, we saw that we must welcome churning of any kind, within and in our political and social milieus for change to happen. And that we must do something, even if it means taking to the streets in large numbers, with much reviled symbols of tokenism; candles and face paint and flags and slogans, if we want to make a difference. Lighting a candle is better than pontificating in futility. For sure.
We can question the obduracy of Team Anna today that could have led to an interminable impasse but what has brought us to possibly a historic moment of cathartic joy, is the knowledge that democracy is by, for and of the people. We count. Our voices matter. That democracy is not just about the power exercised by a few but also about the rights of many.
Today was a counterpoint to the culture of futile argumentativeness this country has been entertaining itself with over the past few years where intellectuals and media commentators sit in studios and harangue over change that never happens.
It was a counterpoint to a certain kind of print journalism steeped in arrogance that pulls apart everything without ever attempting to put anything back together. To writers who create fashionable cults of thoughts that can fit perfectly in western perceptions of who we are and what is wrong with us.
And this counterpoint came despite the sneer and smear campaign following this movement, belittling a man who isn’t educated enough to hold his own in political exchanges and debates. It is easy to see why someone with a benign, rustic face, a Gandhi topi and no intellectual standing can rattle his critics with his ability to inspire, fire up a nation’s imagination and become central to the idea of a corruption-free India.
The press ofcourse caught on to the significance of what was happening when mass support to this movement began to swell around a man who ironically was not a media-created conscience keeper, but has risen from the grassroots of social change and has became a force to reckon with. That this would have initiated a sense of powerlessness in some sections of the media and amongst our political masters, is understandable.
It is easy to see why they would be shaken by the ability of a non-elitist, inarticulate man to attract large crowds just on the strength of something that hasn’t been seen in a long time. A single-minded idea. A dogged determination to see it though. In a country full of political pick pockets, an old man willing to deprive himself of food for as long as it would take for something to shift, with a naive, possibly simplistic belief that complex things can change with simple steps.
The backlash was instant. Hazare was in turns accused of being a moral despot and a closet right-wing ideologue. Someone who would turn this country’s supposedly perfectly functioning democracy into a circus. Someone unworthy of being compared to Gandhi though in a country full of sudden scholars of Gandhian philosophy, few have been inspired by him to adopt his methods or do more than pay token tributes and many have dismissed him over the years as an obsolete idea. Anna’ s followers were described as part of a befuddled, self-serving muddle class. Questions were raised about the integrity of both Hazare and his associates.
Attempts at divisiveness tried to show the movement as anti- poor, anti- muslim, anti- dalit. Almost implying that a movement against corruption was somehow against every other issue that the country is facing today. Be it Kashmir, the forgotten tragedies of the North-East and the endless struggle of Irom Sharmila to be heard. We cannot deny that we are a mess but the cleaning has begun in some parts. And one step at a time towards making one thing better is more constructive than just moaning about multiple causes.
Recognising this, bloggers chipped in to grapple tooth-and -nail with a propaganda that could have killed a less motivated initiative. The battle was no longer about intellectual supremacy but a nation’s desire to feel less shame, more hope, less helplessness, more ownership. It was about a collective need to shake entrenched systems of power that haven’t delivered.
This was something that could not be nipped in the bud as ripples in stagnant pools grew bigger and bigger. Today the Jan Lok Pal bill is a real possibility. Its clauses, its flaws, its weaknesses can be debated and discussed but never again will we need to ask, “What can we do? What can just one person do?”
Yes, Team Anna almost bungled by being obstinate and insensitive today. Yes, the bill they endorse will not be the only answer to corruption. The government was clumsy and ill-advised too in the past and yet today, we saw the coming together of disparate halves to form a consensus on the basis of which, we can build something new and fresh.
This ending could have been as comical as Baba Ramdev’s attempts to corner attention. Yes, it could have been diluted by the inexcusable tastelessness of Kiran Bedi, the fame mongering management gurus and actors who came to be seen and to be heard at a moment they know may be momentous.
But something very uplifting happened to us as a nation today and we owe it to Anna Hazare and to our democracy that has finally acquitted itself as a living organism adaptive to change.
The rest is up to us.
Reema Moudgil is the author of Perfect Eight (http://www.flipkart.com/b/books/perfect-eight-reema-moudgil-book-9380032870?affid=unboxedwri )