"Have we lost the plot? " "Jaate the Japan pahunch gaye Chin, samajh gaye naa! "

 

  

Heat and dust of Anna’s fast has settled somewhat. Most Indians have been put through a wringer and have experienced a kind of emotional vacuum which can be felt only after an epic event has transpired and sucked out every drop from your body. 

Indians born post Independence specifically second and third generation; had only read or maybe seen it in the fictional form of movies. This was a chance of life time many may find it difficult to come to terms with, what they have witnessed or participated in.

The accompanying euphoria that this event brought with itself is unimaginable. Now is the time to settle down and take stock of what was the genesis, purpose and stated goal of this mass movement called India Against Corruption.

The two most crucial questions that need to be answered! 

1. Was India Against Corruption formed for demanding swift action against the unprecedented corruption of Congress lead UPA government?

 2. Was India Against Corruption formed for Jan Lok Pal bill exclusively?

Have we achieved any of those through the 13 days fast by Anna Hazare? 

There are a host of other questions as well. 

Are all the original members of the team still there? 

What can we project as an immediate achievement? 

Have some original members been ignored totally? 

Has the movement maintained its ‘Apolitical’ character?

Did the team pander to any particular section of the society?

Did the team ignore any section of the society?

Has it focused sharply on the ongoing cases of corruption?

Did this movement divert focus from the urgent issues of corruption?

Have the due credits been placed where ever deserved? 

The list is long and every reader would also have his/her questions to pose and seek answers, hence will not dwell any further on the questions alone.

Let us retrace or as it is said lets start at the very beginning! 

India Against Corruption (IAC), whose website says, “India Against Corruption movement is an expression of collective anger of people of India against corruption.”  

The IAC website lists as founders besides Anna Hazare, Baba Ramdev, Mahamood Madani, Arcbishop Vincent M Concessao, Syed Rizvi, Justice D S Tewatia, B R Lall and others. Where are the other members? Why are they not visible? What is going on? Has this movement been hijacked or converted in to a Jan Lok Pal bill only? 

Have we been lead up the garden path by the so called team Anna?

Without going into the chronology of events and making this into an essay or a dissertation which would make it unbearable or be construed as imposing personal view, shall conclude here with what has been reverberating through length and breath of India Vandemataram Bharat Mata Ki Jai.

 link to Ms.Kiran Bedi's interview Video  with Headlines Today

link to_Arvind Kejriwal's interview goo.gl/64oBS with Headlines Today
 

 

Cartoons on Corruption 

Most Important Update 16th Dec 2013

Internal security and external security is solely predicated on the politics and the prevailing political chemistry of a country. Without security there can be no stability and consequently no development. The security discourse and foreign policy posturing of a country is therefore intrinsic to the politics and cannot be seen through different prisms.     

{ LINK }

 Articles on Anna's fast

Anna movement. BJP bracketed with the Congress loses; the Congress does not.

A shameful chapter Only thanks to the generosity of the Opposition, the mess created by the Government was finally cleared 

What has AnnaHazare gained? Jan Lokpal Bill might not be the panacea as many in the Movement against Corruption are hoping

 

The-diminishing-of-Rahul-Gandhi- This is an important question for a party that is still beholden to the Gandhi family  

“The BJP is certainly deriving some political mileage due to clumsy handling by the government and the Congress."

 

Don’t push for Rahul’s idea’ “Such amendment needs more two-thirds’ support of MPs, which is unlikely,” 

The media and Anna Hazare 

Bipartisanship helped end Annas fast what facilitated an amicable end.The salutary role played by senior BJP leaders.

I welcome a debate and discussion on this…As always, please keep your tone civil, your language polite…no sweeping generalisations please and no personal abuse.  Thank you.

Congress launches its Anti Anti-Corruption campaign Cart before the Horse

 
 The circus must end Barkha Dutt, Hindustan Times June 10, 2011

Must confess did force myself to read this article even when it suffers from obvious deficiencies. Author is not credible due to transgression of professional ethics as brought out by Radii tapes. Definite taste of staleness, and fatigue on account of predictability of thought process; However must concede an effort has been made to rely on literature by quoting from various books, does not add any value to the subject. Those who wish to peruse the article or the comments posted in response may follow this link. The circus must end - link.

Commencing a blog is always an exercise which consume a large part of time, this time round luck was on my side when Mr. Neeraj Bhushan a friend posted this tweet

 “In India, civil societies are working as opposition. Will Non Govt Organizations then run my government tomorrow?”

There was further bonanza in store for me where this blog is concerned; congress party decides to launch an Anti Anti-corruption campaign of its own. Understandable congress and the UPA-2 government have only corruption as evidence that it is in existence.

“Senior Congress leader and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee hit out at Anna Hazare and Ramdev over the civil society's anti-corruption movement, accusing them of undermining democratic institutions and did not spare the BJP either.”  Link.

June 25^th 1975 is still fresh in our memory which was a shinning example from congress of strengthening Democracy in India by declaring Emergency and arresting all politicians from opposition parties.

The other relevant articles that have appeared on this issue have been placed for the convenience of the readers so that they may form their independent opinion on this issue.

MK Dhar writing on Scams in India and also how there were riots all along the history- Sir, are you from the Mars? This is India. The Mother of corruption rules the country. The riddle was complicated. To my pleasant surprise he rattled out that Janpath to Rajpath, Ballimaran to Bhindi bazaar everyone is required to be pleased with graft money. How can you get the black money back from abroad? The Mother of corruption has stashed away billions herself. Link

POWER AND POLITICS. UPA needs to drop arrogance and get real. Offence is not always the best defence. Delhi’s ruling establishment is learning it the hard way. For the past few weeks, the UPA, the Congress and its megaphones have gone cacophonic with questions over the colour of the movements led by Anna Hazare and Ramdev against black money and corruption. - Link

RACE COURSE ROAD. UPA II in a tizzy over transparency. For the UPA government, transparency is the new survival mantra. Defence Minister A K Antony’s credibility eclipsed that of his colleagues when he said the nation was going through a transparency revolution. Link

Insolent Congress- A democratic government’s constituency covers the entire nation. Our democracy will lose its vitality if our main political parties and their governments show no respect for diversity, dissent and dialogue—also for the rule of law.  : Link

Stop turning India into a circus - Every second child in India is malnourished despite thousands of crore rupees having been poured into the world’s largest child welfare programme, the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS). If the government can be blackmailed into rescinding Parliament’s sole right to make laws, how about blackmailing it into ensuring that no Indian child goes to bed hungry at night?  : Link

Congress' Midsummer Folly: Rajat Sharma-History is witness to the fact that a democracy cannot be run on the strength of sheer brute force. Only those governments last, which listen to the voice of the opposition and of those who criticize peacefully. It is now up to the Congress to choose between oxygen and an acid.  : Link

Baba attack highlights Congress’ schizophrenia. What is our experience? Any feeling that security measures did not adversely affect human rights has been disproved with the brutal 5 June midnight crackdown on 20,000 sleeping protestors at New Delhi's Ramlila Ground. They were participating in yoga guru "Baba" Ramdev's hunger strike against corruption. In what is described as India's "Tahrir Square", nearly 5,000 policemen including Rapid Action Commandos, who should have been battling armed Maoists, forcibly chased away unarmed men, women and children.   Link

In conclusion we Indians should be asking at the very minimum these three questions of ourselves, as also from Congress and UPA government.

1. Should congress and the UPA government be agitating against the anti corruption demand or should eradicating corruption be its target?

2. Why the disquiet about the participation of the civil society in the movement and demand for being involved in the process of Jan Lokpal bill?

3. Explain what makes National Advisory Council and its members acceptable?

I welcome a debate and discussion on this…As always, please keep your tone civil, your language polite…no sweeping generalisations please and no personal abuse.  Thank you.