Anna Hazare – Walking a fine line

I was a great fan of Anna Hazare. He was able to channelize 50 odd years of the people’s angst against corruption to bring a government to its knees. From the point of view of pure strategy it was a masterstroke, probably worthy of a case study in B-Schools. He took a leaf out of Mahatma Gandhi’s book and showed how civil disobedience still has a place in a democratic setup. He won an important victory for Indians in general by pushing the government towards a stronger Lokpal bill, though I admit some of his demands were irrational. We cannot create an anti-corruption body with absolute powers. As the famous axiom goes, “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely”.

However, the conduct of his organization has been facing some flak ever since. After having achieved a significant victory, they are playing into the hands of the political establishment.  His trusted lieutenants- Kiran Bedi, Arvind Kejriwal, and Shanti Bhushan, all have allegations leveled against them, and to date, they have not been able to clear their name. Now Anna has started bumbling with his media comments. His comment on alcoholism was abominable. Advocating public lashing of alcoholics is eerily similar to the Taliban brand of street justice. The fact that this practice was supposedly being followed in his village Ralegan Siddhi is not very comforting knowledge.  I need not point out that what is being advocated is not only against basic human rights, but also a direct violation of our laws. Clearly this statement will provide fodder to the Congress party, which has anyway been accusing Anna of holding the Indian constitutional system to ransom. Anna’s remark on Sharad Pawar getting slapped was equally regrettable. Though I myself couldn’t help thinking that he probably deserved a few more, it doesn’t befit a Gandian like Anna to enquire mocking if he got only one slap. Though he immediately tried to save the situation by condemning violence of any kind, the damage had already been done. News channels were flashing his “Only one slap?” comment all over the place with glee. Oh and by the way, while we are on the topic of condemning violence, which part of Gandhian philosophy advocates unleashing violence on alcoholics?

Clearly Anna and his organization have helped bring corruption to the limelight like never before. However, their conduct could eventually dilute this movement and undo all that has been achieved till now. I hope better sense prevails, and Anna is able to follow through in pushing some meaningful reforms in India.

Sachin Tendulkar – A ton of cricket

An entire nation and some bookies are waiting with baited breadth for the little maestro to accomplish, his ton of tons. 100 centuries have never been achieved in cricket before and probably is next only to Bradman’s average in terms of the sheer unlikelihood of being bettered in the future. Every time Sachin walks out to bat, a new record is set.

However his actions on the field and the way he is going about trying to achieve this record is unbecoming for a sportsperson of his stature. Don’t get me wrong I am a Sachin fan myself, and whenever Sachin bashers have proclaimed that he is selfish or is only interested in the records, I have always given him the benefit of doubt. But a small incident in the first test between India and West Indies at the Feroze Shah Kotla stadium got me thinking. The incident took place a couple of balls before Sachin was dismissed, he was on 76 with India needing 45-odd runs to victory. He tried to paddle a ball from Bishoo to fine leg. It took the pad and went behind, with an easy chance for a leg-bye. Even VVS Laxman, one of the most reluctant runners around was ready to go for that one, to be fair it was his call as well. However Sachin refused the run! Now why would you do that? Did Sachin want to keep strike or did he not want to take the run because it was a leg-bye and would not add to his score? I would have understood this if Sachin was on 98 and there were say 5 runs to win. Sachin could have easily made 25 runs from the remaining 45 required to win.

Though I am not a believer in divine retribution, something of that sort did happen when he was out LBW 3 balls later, playing a horrendous swipe to mid-wicket. I am sure everyone cares about their personal records, and it is important to give it due consideration. However getting obsessed with a landmark so much so that you alter your natural game, play horrendous shots in desperation, and place personal goals ahead of the team is not what is expected from Sachin Tendulkar, the idol that millions of budding cricketers look up to.

I really wish Sachin achieves his 100th century in a classy innings, where he dominates the opposition, and destroys the bowlers with his unique blend of power, timing and guile. I want to see the Sachin that allegedly gave Share Warne recurring nightmares. That is the kind of batsman I would wish the world to remember Sachin Tendulkar to be, not the one that grafted and scraped his way to a momentous milestone in cricket, while ignoring what the team needs him to do.