Jantar Mantar our Tahrir Square ?

         Tahrir square, a town square in Cairo, the capital of Egypt became the biggest symbol of a revolution in the recent past. Two hundred fifty thousand people, classless, ageless, and genderless gathered to overthrow the corrupt, tyrant, autocratic regime which lasted more than three decades. And finally overthrow they did. It was a true uprising, a peaceful revolt, a reaction after years of suppression and a fight against all that was not right in Egypt.

       The recent crusade of Gandhian Anna Hazare against corruption and demanding the rightful implementation of Lokpal Bill has grabbed the attention of many. Awareness regarding the cause has grown over the last couple of days. The civil society has come forward in its support for the man who is now widely seen as beacon of light in times when the country seems to have been relegated to gory days of corruption. His fasting at Jantar Mantar is being seen as a revolution akin to one that occurred at Tahrir square a few weeks ago.

    But will Jantar Mantar be our Tahrir square? The answer would be both Yes and No.

           Yes because the movement has stirred up the passion among people for a fight against corruption. Thanks to the age of internet and social networking (the hero of Tahrir square you would remember was a Google employee) protests, let me not name it a revolution yet, have taken a different shape. They are now difficult to be contained. Support pages, information passing, fact representation has all become possible at the click of a button. If not anything else the ruling government would be worried about the discontentment of large masses of people.

          Yes because major sections of society has come forward in support of it. When an Aamir Khan pledges support, when an army chief pledges support, when a Sri Sri Ravishankar pledges support, (though I wonder why a Tendulkar or Dhoni have not come forth given their present iconic status) it seems to represent the right cause for people. In times of despair people look forward to leaders who would steer them through, and this movement has brought to the fore a few people capable of doing it.

          Jantar Mantar will not be our Tahrir square because the country is too diverse. There are so many social, economic and political forces at play and at so many levels that nullifying all the factors and unifying everyone in a classless, ageless and genderless fashion is a near impossible task. Geographical vastness of the country dilutes the effect that a gathering of mere two hundred fifty thousand people at Tahrir could do. The media still obsessed with cricket (now IPL) lacks in providing a spirited helping hand to the movement.

            Jantar Mantar will not be our Tahrir square because even though awareness about the movement is high, it is still miniscule. The power to any movement given by the youth participation is lacking. The ones who could take to streets on a world cup win would even not bother to read up what Lokpal Bill is all about. They are not to be blamed entirely though. Acceptance of corruption is in our psyche thanks to the political class.

             Though there might be doubts whether a single Bill would help eradicate corruption in our country, what is for sure is that it is a welcome step for fight against it. Even though a lone movement cannot wake up everyone who is in a slumber sedated by corruption it sure can help wake a few. Even though the government might find a way of dilly dallying the issue what it for sure cannot put on hold is the fervour against it. A revolution against corruption is in the making albeit in strong small steps.

This is where we do it wrong!

       For a cricket frenzy nation what could be better than winning the World Cup of the game. A powerful and passionate performance, a fitting payback for all the prayers, astute achievement which registers in record books for all tested times to come. And the men who made it possible are indeed heroes for making it possible for the nation. It was indeed heart warming to see celebrations break out throughout the nation. But to the ire and displeasure of many though, I would take the liberty to raise a few questions at this juncture.

       Are we overdoing it? Do we need to give them the next-to-god status? Should they be rewarded with cash awards amounting to a few crores per person? Should we come together as a nation only at the achievement of a sporting championship? Should media take these eleven odd men to a pedestal so high that any future human error would make them criminal? Should downing record litres of alcohol, record underage drinking, come as an additional baggage with the win? Should television channels dig into the kitchens to find out from the cooks what the cricketers ate every day? Would Bharat Ratna qualify to be the only award remaining to be conferred upon them?

        I have a few answers. Yes we are overdoing it. If as a nation of 1.3 billion people, who profess cricket as a religion for the majority, we could not win the world cup for 28 long years then the folly is of the BCCI and the players entirely. Everyone would agree to the fact that it is not the dearth of quality cricketers that is the shortcoming. Ask any aspiring cricketer, barring a few wonder stories, politics in cricket as a malaise has been and still today haunts all levels of the game beginning under-14 teams to national teams. Will this world cup win change that?

          Showering the members of winning team with crores of rupees as cash is a filthy display of wealth and clout. It is not that our cricketers that like of many nations go for office work in the daytime. The match fees given the amount of cricket they play, the private tournaments (read IPL) and of course not to mention the endorsements they make, all of it doesn’t definitely put them in middle class category anymore. What justifies gifting hundreds of lakhs Ms Sheila Dixit when millions of poor can be fed instead? BCCI we all know is the richest sports body in the world with a turnover more than many companies. Do they have any social responsibilities as well?

          Cricket binding the nation together is a good notion and a healthy one too. But it only does so when it plays arch rival Pakistan or when it gets home a major tournament trophy. Hit by the match fixing scandal, the fire of which engulfed many a players and refuses to be extinguished even today, the image of cricket took a serious beating only to be revived majorly in the recently concluded tournament. Therefore the idolising of cricketers makes it a over stretched affair. Just like you and me do our jobs, slog to do it most of the times, isn’t winning for a country the cricketers job as well?

         Chanting of ‘Vande Mataram’ by thousands together post winning is emotional for any Indian. It imbibes a feeling of deep rooted nationality in times where political leadership (or the lack of it) has let everyone down. But what change does that bring to the functioning of the country. Do the same number of people as the revellers were on streets that night, come out to vote? Do they post comments on news articles, lest support them, when a Anna Hazare fasts unto death for Lokpal Bill? Downing lakhs of litres of alcohol, rise in about hundred percent of underage drinking in the capital have also been hallmarks in the book of achievements. How about the social work that our men in blue indulge in?

        This is not to take away the credit from the well deserving men in blue. Thanks to them for bringing the nation together for a moment. Give MSD news space but also do not forget Anna Hazare. Give them adulation unlimited do not shower unlimited money on them. Make them heroes do not make them god. An overdose of everything can be distasteful. This is where we do it wrong.

Congress and Corruption





Corruption is a fact. That it percolates from the top echelons to the down-the-ladder clerk is a fact that all Indians have internalised in their psyche. Independent India witnessed the surge in corruption making a peak through the licence raj era. Only after liberalisation set in and globalisation became a phenomenon that India, especially a young India looked at corruption as an evil that could be tamed, if not killed. Major corruption scandals dwindled in number barring an occasional Sukhram stashing money in flower pots or Jayalalitha having hundreds of shoes, just to cite a few popular examples.

However the second term of the Congress led government experienced three major corruption scandals in a very short span of time. Readers may note that this is not to spare the Madhu ‘Money’ Koda, but just to bring to light three scams rocking the nation at almost one point of time. The trio of Commonwealth Games, 2 G spectrum scandal and Adarsh housing society scam has taken corruption to new heights or I must say rock bottom. Interestingly these three scandals share the common denominator of involvement of congressmen or its ministers. A chief minister of a large state, a cabinet minister and a president of a sports body since as-far-as-your-memory-might-take-you have come out as the chief of the corruption orchestra.

The details of the scams are too gory and mind boggling. While commonwealth games hit the image of the nation hard, the 2G spectrum involving huge amounts of money, the Adarsh housing scam exposed the ever so disciplined army. The damaging acts of these three scandals brought to the fore three faces of Suresh Kalmadi, A. Raja and Ashok Chavan. Two congressmen and one congress ally is how people recognize them. What distinguishes these men is their blatant brush with power and the immunity they carry.

Behind these incidents lies a greater matter of concern which involves the people of power, which when translated are Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi. There is a particular reason in the order of names. While Mrs Gandhi calls the shots, the Prime Minister Dr. Singh is the face of the government (though I would rethink on that statement given the surge of the next name) and the PM-in-waiting Rahul baba. Sonia Gandhi has had her knowledge of politics from her mother-in-law and imbibes many of her virtues. One who has seen how people in the corridor of power act, when the strings needs to be pulled, what is socialist, populist and what is monarchy, she understands like no other the art of power handling.

The noble yet toothless prime minister who was served the post on platter has been one of the cleanest figures of Indian polity. His admiration is pervasive of party lines in matter of integrity but where he falters is in playing an unquestioning comrade to the orders of his boss. Rahul Gandhi the official prime ministerial candidate believes in making you believe that he is the young crusader who will fight all evil and will be champion of the poor and downtrodden. Nothing wrong with that but what the nation expects at the face of such huge scams is these three people stand up for the cause of the country.

The socialist in Mrs. Gandhi could announce huge package for farmers’ loan waiver in a budget, could move Right To Information Act, could pass Right To Education but at the same time overlook corruption occurring under her nose in the house of which she is the undisputable leader. Reminds something of the original Mrs. Gandhi? A man of rare integrity, Dr. Singh has all the right ingredients to lead the nation, yet falters in it because where he lacks is the teeth to bite. Unassuming would be the best way to describe India’s most learned prime minister. Rahul Gandhi, need not be mentioned, has certain clout in south block and has many a times been instrumental in moving files of interest. Recently he has targeted corruption in a strong way but alas it has not gone unnoticed that they pertain majorly to non-congress ruled states.

The right time for these three leaders to show their substance is on hands. While timely and strong action against corruption can prove their mettle to the voter, inaction would prove them to be paper tigers. For the government to not end with a black patch of corruption, the cleansing act has to be done effectively and as soon as possible.