Mahatma v/s Anna

The words written below are some random thoughts that often clung to my mind when I saw an iron willed Anna adamant and hell bent on fasting at Ramlila Grounds, when a larger than life poster of Gandhi jii glowed from the background.



Let us concentrate on the villains first. In Gandhi’s time, there were the British. Anna today fiddles with indigenous men, who are born out of this country’s very soil and act as its protectors. The British were imperialists, they did not rule our country, they ran it, for them India was a business, and they , for most part of their tenure proved to be good businessmen. Our netas come down from a different genre. Unlike the British, they regard serving the nation as their duty , pledge for upholding the constitution, but when it comes to deeds, they keep it simple, rape the nation .
So when it came to waking the country, Gandhi had a tough job, because he was fighting shrewd tacticians, who, incidentally at that time were best at their jobs, and secondly Gandhi had to arouse a nation which after years of incessant harassment laid numb. Adding to the worries , was the neo rich class, which was largely divided , and too possessive about its stand. Anna got, what Gandhi would have strongly wished for- a healthy environment. He got a vibrant and educated middle class which at Gandhi’s time was extinct.
The populace during Gandhi’s time, albeit ultimately supporting him, were habitual of seeing their nation chained. They never had IITs,IIMs,a booming economy, and a self belief that Anna saw in today’s generation, thus compelling Gandhi for intense introspection and spiritual thesis before arriving at a doctrine. So Gandhi with an impoverished India by his side went on to fight some shrewd strategists, and , it is alleged that on similar lines, Anna with a resurgent youth, raised the baton against the Khadi clad men, who mostly are devoid of formal education, let alone being strategists.
The aforementioned allegation is what I stoutly refrain from accepting. Gandhi, in all his movements simply broke the law. He did this to expose the autocratic environment the people lived under. His unlawfulness was symbolic of the fact that ‘ enough is enough’ and that the tide had risen to unmanageable levels. Along side he told Indians , not to accept the fear, but to face it with all the gusto one could muster. He attempted all this non-violently because he was pragmatic enough to understand that any other path in this poverty struck and diverse nation can never lead to a united and a free nation. His hunger strikes, interestingly, were for his own purpose,. Those were his spiritual takes, his introspective journey, to solve the dilemma , if ever, he was in.
Hunger strike is an arch weaponary in the kitty of Team Anna. But in the midst of all the chaos, we tend to overlook a gift that Gandhi, in due course of time has given to Anna, and which has he3lped in making these hunger strikes what they are-heroic.That gift is a democratic and free India. The freedom of speech, an independent media, a self dependent block of the population, and a good education has made this hunger strike a battle of good over the ugly.

When Gandhi faught and broke the laws, there were no rights, no constitution, no democratic institutions that upheld the sovereignty of the Indians., so Gandhi had no other choice. But today when we have achieved what Gandhi had dreamt of , then a hunger strike , though may seem fascinating by analyzing the corruption levels, ultimately ends up keeping the country’s republican structure at ransom.
Anna’s methodology tends to undermine the governance and politics of the country when the real problem lies in the aforementioned politicians who harass and rape our motherland. It should be kept in mind that the real victory is not achieved by proving a point at Jantar Mantar, but by respecting the constitution, following the ethos of democratic process,thus strengthening the institutions of this country, institutions, due to which for the past 60+ years we have boasted to be the largest electorate in the world.
Having said that the people’s anger is totally justified. But then we should remember that the the anger which has made us responsible citizens would easily have been an illegal action in any undemocratic environment. It’s the freedom given to us that has made us think so vocally about our country. Of course these are beautiful times when so much young blood is there for the country, but then trying to make things work on the grounds of a strike which is becoming synonymous with “my way or the highway” is pushing things too far.

Instead we should try to bring change in ways some people thought we would when they framed our constitution, when they conferred it a republic. It should be remembered that by-passing is no solution but strengthening our nation is one. We should try to analyze our democratic set up, participate in governance, reform various sectors ,and try to make parliamentary institutions citizen-friendly and transparent, which from times immemorial have been used against us, and these can be achieved when we shed the robe of observers and become participants. That way we might be similar to what Gandhi would have been today , otherwise in his very own words, “an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind”.

BEING ANNA -Reloaded

Anna* is back again....with a bang or not, only time will tell,but his presence can be felt. Words like parliament,resolution and most importantly hunger strike are bubbling again in the atmosphere. A revolution is being sensed, smelled and expected soon.

If we go by the general consensus, which means views of people which altogether lead a normal life(for some. it’s boring) life, then it’s the rebuilding of the nation that is taking place, times are great, its India shining...or is it?. If it is, then where will we put( in the scale of shine), our constitution that grants us the freedom that has made Anna's act a heroic stance? An act that , 60 years ago, could easily have been another Jallianwaala Bagh episode.

There's no doubt about Anna's integrity towards the issue, but the incessant use of hunger strikes and boycotts are taking the subject to rather unfriendly shores. In a country where each of us have been given equal rights, and most importantly equal opportunities , the path of hunger strikes is a kind of a short cut that contradicts our republican structure. The direct effect that it has on the citizens is that they have started to undermine democracy, thereby developing a scorn towards everything political.

When ,on one side Anna has succeeded in driving the youth to a just cause , on the other hand his philosophy has drifted the young guns from politics and politicians. The hunger strike methodology can, in near future lead to a domino effect , when no matter what the cause is , a similar movement may rock the stage.

Anna , by distancing himself from politics, has become a mere symbolic reality, at times when we desperately need a leader like him. It must be remembered that to uphold the nation's democratic fervour, we have to follow the path that upholds the countries democratic power. And when there is people's control, the only way changes can be made are through elections. We need to understand that common good can be achieved by participating and winning in the elections, by coming to power, and replacing the bad ones by the good and more sincere ones.

Corruption, for which the Gandhian is fighting , is not an issue. It is a disease that everyone is suffering from, and strikes are no way of curing it, rather it makes it more fatal, because of the growing mistrust it creates among the people for the institutions, the pillars of this country. Secondly, Corruption is basically an effect , rather that a cause, as it has been projected. The inept policies against a booming economic growth is a catalyst for increasing this filth. It should be noted that a common man resorts to corruption as a need, not as a habit. Therefore, a mere check may backfire, by that check becoming tainted too. In the long run , only robust policies can paint the picture in desired colors. That is possible when a bravado like Anna plunges into the political battlefield, thus making the whole structure solid.

Anna is no 'second Gandhi', he is the follower of country's father who's dream it was to see the nation being led by its heroes. Today, when we almost hate the khadi clad men that govern us, its time for Annaq to get rid of the hunger strike way, become representative of the people, lead the nation as people's hero , and built an India, Gandhi once dreamt of, and Anna himself, still dreams of.

* = Anna here is synonymous with Team Anna

RELIGION- THROUGH MODERN LENSES

Religion is a complex term. It will be an understatement to call it just a word in the lexicon. It is basically a subjective reality that appears to be a vast entity, often transcending realism. Religion- on hearing the word ,one is filled with respect,awe and revernece,towards a certain set of rules that we dare not question ,let alone break.

That respect towards religion is anachronistic in modern times because it certainly inhibits our ability ro reason and question. If we have a look at all the modern democracies we will see that there is always a growing tussle between the free spirited thought and the rigid norms of religion. For those nations, which are on their way towards a democratic set up,this friction is more pronounced.

The aforementioned conditions are effects of a wrong perception of religion and religious thoughts, that we have been garnering for centuries. We , round the globe,in almost every case,project religion as unquestionable. It seem to be word handed over by God and mere asking for its validity is gravest of sins. It is easy to analyze and tough to admit that this is a wrong perception of religion.

The correct answer to the question “What is religion?” would be that it is a set of thought processes embedded with principles that helps make people's life smooth and ethically strong. The concepts of religion are never accountable to the wishes of a particular 'great one' as that will make it synonymous with autocracy. Viewing the situation historically and socially, the main reason for religion to come into existence is to render the society a peaceful ethical and to the as much a possible, a life on their own terms, thus making flexibility , the charm of any religion.

Flexibility brings religion as a topic of heated debate. The problem with the society is that we need to look religion as a set of principles that must remain unchanged , unbridled. This creates a collision with the modern social life which is adaptable to changes.

The main motive of religion is to take human life to a better level, but our rigid take on this institution is making things difficult. We often concentrate on the petty do's and dont's and project ourselves as true followers. Any particular principle of religion depends on the historical ang geographical condition when it was enunciated. We should pay attention to only those theories and try to bring to action only those practices which are correct and ethical irrespective of caste , society and time frame.Such a treatment of religion will bring it not only closer to modern democratic principles but will try to fill the rift between various theologies.

What we need is a critical analysis and filtering only those practices which serve for the betterment of humanity as a whole. In simple words it would be catering to what any religion and its practices and philosophies actually asks for.

POLITICIAN'S BANK

For all those who felt proud to belong to a region that boasted both of Taj Mahal and Sangam, it must have been heartbreaking ,when in Lucknow, the resolution to divide the state into four parts was passed.

The main facets that have bubbled out of this division storm are the emotional outbursts of a simple UPite, who, irrespective of the dilapidated condition of the state ,has fond memories of the state’s cultural supremacy. But in the midst of all this emotion, we regularly ignore the real politik of the leaders of the state ,the beloved Vote Bank policy-an antecedent to divide and rule.

“A vote bank is a loyal bloc of a single community backing a certain candidate” is a rather innocent definition of the term. In the context of UP, it is a strategy of getting votes on the caste lines ,that ultimately lead to the negligence of the development of the region.

The main attraction of the politics of Uttar Pradesh is its casteist flavor. The reason behind the subsequent division is termed as the large size of the state that leads to its inefficient administration. This reason , as per now, is just a mirage to seek political goals. Three out of four regions which are projected as different states are self sufficient as far as the resources and manpower is concerned. The problem is the lack of effective policies of governance, as political spectrum makes it mandatory for every politician to woo a certain caste/group, ultimately overshadowing the state as a whole.

If we look at the state more closely, we will find cotton mills at Kanpur ,once known for their huge output- all closed, the artistic cottage industry of Purvanchal- all dumped up. These are some of the many ‘already’ present resources that made UP, a once prosperous state and an ignorant back towards them has resulted in the present plight of the state. And no prizes for guessing the simple reason – lack of sustainable policies ,because the idea is to stay in power rather than to strive for the development of key zones which have both man power and resources.

The largely unseen result of excessive vote banking is the continuing malice between various caste groups. The malice has always been there, but when the baton of leadership is carried forward by educated leaders, and when the the common man, too is decently aware, then, the persistence of such attitude is an alarming sign. It can be gathered from history that any pogrom is a result of a hybrid mixture of class hatred with education among the youth. The ill-effect growing vote bank policies , which will aggravate with the division, might very well bring the relation among the people esp. educates youth of the region to such a situation.

To conclude, I guess, it would be sensible to relate the state’s development with an effective administration rather than division, which may lead to a lesser say of the regions at the center. Sound policy making and impartial judgment of the issue can only make Uttar Pradesh an Uttam Pradesh, the title it has long been striving to get.

NEW TIMES...GOOD TIMES..

Ramrajya- a sound that is more perfect than the batting of Bradman,more picturesque than the valleys of Kashmir. It’s a word that is often referred to when we see atrocities happening or seeing something unjust in the present time frame. And we complement it with a word as immortal and as great as the former – Kalyug. Without Kalyug, Ramrajya is null and void, as we admire Ramrajya because we hate Kalyug. But then Ramrajya brings a music to our ears, the sound of which represents order,justice,and peace for all.

Having said that, I am of the view that we have crossed the deserts of the devilish Kalyug. We no longer reside in that separatist culture,. We are in a new phase that is a counterpart, and not a complement of the great era of King Rama- if I may call it CyberRajya- the digital boom. Computers started as a sophisticated helping hand in our complex research work,grew as a technology to assist us in our academic and industrial domain and as per now, have invaded our social,personal and every type of life to an extent of haunting us.

So are we in good times or bad ones? Are we celebrating the fest of technology or ignoring the beauties of nature in a bid to get ‘silicon’ized. Let’s just compare the present day society with the most sought after period of India- the Ramrajya.
The most fascinating thing about Ramrajya was its openness. Openness is a rather vague term that can be further broken into equality, freedom of expression, and that every person from top to bottom was connected to each other- not to forget that Seeta was abandoned due to a comment of a mere commoner. These days when I log on to my twitter account and tweet something to Mr Bachchan, I don’t do it as a fan writing some fan males, but it’s just a flow of a distinct point of view from one person to another, and all the time ,being fully aware that he is going to answer me. Similarly when an American logs on to AmericansElect.com. he does not do it to gather knowledge about the political spectrum of his country, he does it to elect a presidential nominee, thus to change the political spectrum of his country, and all this for free, because as members of this society we deserve it- a bell rings, a behavior analogous to the Ramrajya .

Various cyber tools that strive to keep us connected have broken amongst us various class,caste and status barriers and help built us in individuals who believe in an unbiased flow of ideas to build valid and various thought processes. The commoner, thus has started thinking of himself as an important part of the social machinery, His voice is being heard, his thoughts are being acted upon, he is feeling responsible, thus powerful and hence , conscious for the development of society, country and the world. Looking from the context of India- in a land where there are various languages and cultures , no single person can lead the nation , and inputs from each and every individual is needed, and Cyberrajya is definitely making this need into a reality.

Our mythology tells us that there will be great destruction after Kalyug and the good times will start again. It is all true and the destruction is happening, not in the form of bloodshed, but by destroying customs, old roots, and fighting our way out to keep the current line of thought in place that is the hybrid thinking of the society. And once it is all over, we’ll be living in a golden age,with values we have long sought for.

The IDEA of Gandhi

It was Gandhi Jayanti last Sunday. I certainly wished to write ‘celebrated’ instead of ‘was’ ,but then I didn’t celebrate and frankly speaking nobody did!! When I track down the national festivals that I have witnessed through my age, I can relate 15th August to ‘boondi k laddoo’, 26th Jan to a disciplined parade in my school, but did 2nd October achieve anything more than a holiday with Attenborough’s Gandhi being telecasted on DD1 ??. I doubt.







A thought ,thereby arises in my mind that we never celebrate the existence of personalities like Nehru, Patel, or Bhagat Singh,like we celebrate the aura and magic of our Bollywood superstars, with media channels dedicating hour long public discussions for those tinsel towners. It will be tough to digest and intense to retrospect when said that the freedom fighters have lost much of their sheen. We gained independence in ’47, and much water has flown in and out of the Ganges since that ‘At the stroke of midnight’ speech of Nehru. We’ve seen IITs ,Emergency, near bankruptcy ,Rushdie’s Midnights Children ,Economic liberalization , 2G scam, and so, reviewing this long list there is no surprise that Nehru ,each year asks for a children’s day ,Patel is somewhere in the primary level GK books as “Iron Man” and confusion prevails over the identity of Azad.







But Gandhi cannot be attributed to such a treatment . he is there, in fact he is bound to be there, in our currency, in govt buildings , parks. In films Gandhi has, a sort of an oxymoronic role to play, because in any sequence where there is intense corruption or injustice being shown , we can see one of his portraits or hear one of his insignia tunes in the background. His gift to the common man ‘Khadi’ is still favored albeit among politicians who are all the more far away from the common man.







But in spite of all this, the birthday of the ‘Big Daddy’ goes dull, Gandhi Ashrams are in desperate need of customers. Gandhi in all its glory is as outside our lives and culture as he is inside







So we can come to a conclusion that Gandhi, not at all a stranger to our lives , has got a sort of an estranged relationship with us, In India we cannot condemn Gandhi ,but we cant embrace him either, He is a puzzle that we have to solve to clear the examination, so we leave it halfway ,to just pass the test.







There are many reasons as to why the old man, clad in a loin cloth half his life, an epitome of simplicity has become such a complex conundrum. A major misconception is portrayal of Gandhi as a person who brought freedom to India. It was never in his agenda to ‘free’ India. He wanted to lift this nation, make its people a constructive part of its edifice. He never opposed the British in general, but he vehemently oppressed those policies of theirs which downgraded the prestige of Indians, he worked towards a comprehensive building of India , where India was to be a constituted and served by Indians, he didn’t want India to be a private property of Indians.







So did Gandhi brought freedom to India, may be not, but yes he helped India to survive through that freedom process, as one single entity. Gaining freedom was a political process, and looking at the issues from a political point of view - boycott of the Non-co-operation movement and ouster of Bose from the INC ,may not be very much politically correct decisions, and India would have achieved independence quite early had these decisions not acted upon, but would India, a country with multitude of cultures and languages, had survived and avoided Balkanization., that is the main question. If we look at the political scenario of ’45, freedom to India was inevitable, what was more important was how India embraced that freedom. Gandhi thus, strived all is life to prepare India for that freedom. This preparation consisted of taking strict stands, standing by the spoken words, and setting examples by following them. Gandhi was an intellectual for whom nothing was negotiable, thus making him a bad politician.



Another allegation that the poor man faces is that his policies and philosophies are impractical. This is a misconceived allegation. The question should be, “Are Gandhi’s policies realistic in 21st century??” Any thought process, any philosophy is timeless, and ageless. But its implementation changes from time to time and is divided into phases. Any particular phase can be divided into the prevailing conditions, economic activities , and technological advancements of a particular time-frame. The mere thought of practicing the policies in 2011 which Gandhi practiced in 1920-45 is foolhardy in nature. Having said that, the ideals must remain same as India is still suffering from the same problems of poverty illiteracy and socio- economic inequalities as in ’47,but an India which has got a McDonald’s McVeggie as its normal Sunday meal, Gandhi would certainly have had different practices for it to perform



And then fasts. Did Gandhi fasted to make people meet his demands??. And I can bet you that this statement stands completely null and void. unless the demand was to stop Hindus and Muslims to stop killing each other. Otherwise the fasts of Gandhi were to purify himself., to rejuvenate the energy he wanted to use in the service of the nation. It was Gandhi who understood the real meaning of fasts. He used them for introspection, for self analysis. Under the silence and quietness of fasts, he found his God who kindles in him the determination to face all the hurdles.



One question that I often ask myself is that what would have happened had Gandhi not existed?......................Perhaps India would have gained freedom but I doubt if we had the same India as we have it today. There would have been no Luther Kings, Mandelas and Hazares, as there would have been nobody to look up to self -belief like Gandhi.



Self-belief ,yes, belief in oneself is what he gave us as a gift. Gandhi as a human being did things that were right and wrong, but through is self-belief he achieved some above-average things and an above-average status…thereby becoming the father of the nation.

I'd rather not be Anna - reprise

. If you are an Indian ,then there is no better time than the present time-frame to celebrate your 24-25th birthday . I have not seen the Quit India Movement ,just heard it, as if it was a fairytale, from my grandfather. Neither have I witnessed the emergency period, stories (rather incidents) of which I have heard from my parents. I always wondered what a movement is like , whether its tyrannical, lazy or exotic until I saw one.



The Gen-Y has termed this era as a revolution. I, being a part of the Gen-Y and a democracy disagree completely. This is not a revolution. A revolution to me, both literally and figuratively means a complete overhaul. An upside down strategy required when one has reached a dead end, when the thought process of a state has saturated and when the ideologies upon which the nation has strengthened its roots have deprecated.. What we as a nation want is a deviation in our thinking, a tilt, a subtle and gradual change in our ideology.



Corruption is a cancer ,no doubt ,and it is eating our country out, but then , there is a pending topic of red terror(in simple words, we call it Maoism which is drawn out of extreme poverty)., and also do we have the all time hit insurgencies by China and Pakistan on either sides. But then we can’t hide away from the fact that we are on our way with zooming economy and rock the stage when it comes to demographic dividend. So here’s a 3-dimensional situation with corruption, poverty-cum-terror and achievements as its subsequent faces. This is the rubics cube that we have to solve.



It would be a horrendous task to undermine our civil institutions and the clauses and phrases of our constitution , because they are the galleries of our republic that endorse the freedom to its citizens, freedom that has made this multicultural,multilingual,world’s largest electorate hold its democratic power, a power that has created the great Ramlila Maidan celeberation.



So do I admire Anna Hazare. Yes, I very much do. But having said that, I am not Anna. I am the citizen of India and I have a distinct spirit and have a distinct opinion , which , in all the good senses , is for the welfare of this nation. And perhaps Anna also wants such mentality to sprout. He doesn’t want us to blindly follow him, or write petitions in blood but ,put opinions, discuss the pros and cons of the bill. Never mind if a person is against the bill, he should have the confidence to put forward his issues if he has the zeal to regulate corruption., thereby really supporting him. This way we will strengthen our democracy and its institutions , where there is a rule of the public and which for the last 64 years has been shouting that this land is for the people, of the people and by the people.







In a country where corruption is channelized to each nook and corner and where conducting a referendum will end up being a wild goose chase, the educated youth, and the sensitive middle class should stand up, hold public discussions about the prospects of Jan Lokpal, extend the whole thought process to the villages and all the downtrodden. That will be the only way the Jan Lokpaal will truly reflects our democracy and will amalgamate the interests of the nation’s billion people.



And yes one more appeal, stop saying that we are against corruption, that will be analogous to running away from the truth. The honest and brave way will be to accept that “yes we were corrupt”, and “now we have the courage to reinvent ourselves”. That will be the right way forward, perhaps that will be Anna’s way

P.S. 'I”d rather not be Anna' was the title of a provocative article by Arundhati Roy. I being an ardant fan of her was disappointed by her take on the whole issue.and therefore this reprise versionis an apology anda fan’s take for that article.