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.