11th day into protest and the government is still moving in a circle. One day it moves upward and the other day it takes a U-turn downwards. In an attempt to end the deadlock with the Team Anna, along with trying to save its own intentions to preserve freedom to corruption, the government has been going mad. They agree one day and then they backtrack the other day.
And in this circle the center has been missing in the action (majorly cause she is away from the country physically and away from the movement medically). I would not say that people were really expecting Rahul to step in to fill in for his mother. I also don't think even Congress was missing involvement of their "claimed-to-be-future-PM" in this whole situation. As all we know even Congress would prefer Rahul not to speak during this sensitive situation as the chances are more that he will break the circle and take the government in a downfall.
But I guess, frustrated of the circle, finally Rahul stepped in. And with an intent to jump higher than Team Anna, in a hope to make the agitation look like a peanut, he made two major recommendations that are different from Jan Lokpal. First was to bring the political funding under the control of government. To which, even a dumb person would agree that not a single person present in the parliament would agree with fully (including Rahul's own colleagues). So here Rahul scores the first goal for the opponents. And secondly to show that Jan Lokpal is merely a peanut, he raised his hand in support of creating an anti-corruption institution as a constitutional institution like election commission.
Having Lokpal as a constitutional institution means quite a big thing. It will make the body completely independent of Parliament. And hence the freedom to investigate matters concerning the members of parliament will become reality.
But wait a minute, before starting to dream of a corruption-less (purposely not using corruption-free) India, lets first try to understand the intentions behind such a big suggestion. Is it that Rahul had suddenly got his conscience woken up? Or is it that even he had to pay bribes at 100 locations and hence had been thinking about this problem since a long time?
Or is it that to end the deadlock and to bring back the torn image of his party and the government that he is heading (virtually if not really), he has come up with this "formula"? Why this big idea was put in by him while other very senior and much more educated members of his team (including the PM) being present at the parliament. Is it that since other members had already tried their chances and eventually lost their credibility, they kept Rahul as an ace of spades for the big blow?
Whatever being the reason one thing is clear, that the intentions are still not the right one. I would not iterate the thousands of incidences in the near past to prove the prior statement. So what could be the real reason supporting their real intentions? I can think of only one reason. Since everyone know that amendments in the constitution are far longer and complex process than passing a bill, this could be their super formula to buy more time on the issue and temporarily get away from the situation.
However while trying to end the present deadlock temporarily, Rahul had scored another self goal. For many reasons. Firstly that this idea is something which can be looked as complimentary to the Jan Lokpal. Because as Dr. Kiran Bedi said, one has to climb a hill before even thinking about climbing Everest. So now for the government, to show seriousness and support towards their future PM's comment, they will have to seriously show their commitment towards the first step which is Jan Lokpal. And once this is over, it would not be over for them. Because now to abide by a statement for which all the government members clapped, they will have to start working towards it. If at a later stage they show their unwillingness towards taking up the dream statement of their prince to reality, Team Anna or for that matter any other civil organization can start another agitation. And yes they will get similar support for sure.
So in a way, while trying to put an end to this protest, Rahul has given a direction to the civil society and the people of India to start another one.
By the way, he also condemned this movement saying that this agitation will set wrong example and will provoke others to agitate in similar manner for unreasonable demands in future. Firstly, by saying this at least he also agrees that this agitation is not unreasonable (another shot at self post). Secondly, if in future anyone starts an agitation with unreasonable demand, I really don't think that it will get this much support. After all People of India are not so foolish that they will voice their support for any unreasonable demand.
Even the government knows that its not the agitation that is holding them on ransom but it is the huge unprecedented public support. So all I say in future Congress member may actually think of bribing Rahul to 'not to speak'.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Hammer when its red HOT!
The weekend has gone now. For the general working class of people, this weekend means day(s) of their own. The Sunday (as it is off for most of the regular working people) is the day when people get their real freedom from the bounds of their work or professional cells. Hence this day holds importance like no other days. Not even festivals. Because for most of them, the festival holiday means getting out from the bounds of work and getting into the bounds of relatives / tradition / customs.
Other days of equal importance are the three National holidays and a day which comes once in five year. Yes the Voting Day. Its a social fact that the rarer the phenomenon it is, the more important it becomes to cherish it. After all no matter how beautiful the "Dooj ka chaand" (the crescent moon on the second day from new moon day) is, "Idd ka chaand" (the moon seen on the eve of festival Idd) holds more importance.
We always try our best to not let go the one day - The Sunday. Because on this day we get to behave and live the way we want to live. And if we get bonus like the voting day, how can we resist the temptation to feel free. And it is this temptation that gives rise to the cynical views when it comes to voting. We hide behind this cynical attitude just to justify our stealing the purpose out of this one day. The primary purpose being "To Vote". Our excuses?!!! Well its just one vote how does it matter? The whole system is corrupt, even if i give my vote sensibly what is the guarantee that others will? At times it even goes to the level of "I was feeling very sick and hence could not go out!"
Well i am not writing this post to tell you what has been told by hundreds of other videos, ads and articles, prepared under various campaigns to educate people to vote and vote sensibly. But what i am pointing out is that i have seen a ray of hope from these very people.
The ray of hope was in the form of people coming out of their homes, and spending their most important "Sunday" for a cause. But before we start dreaming of a better future, we have to analyze why these people are ready to spend their important Sunday even when they don't feel motivated to spend the voting day to its right use. Is it just the cause? The Anti-Corruption movement? Well there had been more than hundred protests in the past related to this cause but none has gained such a support of people.
I think the answer lies in a word which defines relation between two individuals - "Trust". Its more of a trust or a larger hope which is riding on the trust towards the very people who are leading this movement. And what generates this trust is the fact that here is a set of activists who are not just protesting but are proposing a solution. A solution, which is at least logically correct if not fully technically or practically correct.
One can always argue that this may not be the right way to get things sorted. This is more of a "blackmail". But I look at it with a different angle. I look at it as a step in getting the trust of people towards a set of people who are real activists, who want to really bring change to this society without seeking any personal favor.
This movement has proved that people are no more ready to stay inside their home and spend relaxing Sunday. They are ready to come out and voice their views provided they have someone whom they can trust to lead and do the rightful. So what is now required is to make sure that this agitation does not go cold and in the meantime, we prepare ourselves to take a bigger step of being directly part of the government.
I compare this protest to the heating process of an iron bar. And when its the right time, the time for election, the time when the iron really becomes read hot, I believe that people will be ready to come out of their home and hammer it hard with their votes. With a possibility of 1.2 bil hammer shots, forget about iron we can reshape Titanium!
Other days of equal importance are the three National holidays and a day which comes once in five year. Yes the Voting Day. Its a social fact that the rarer the phenomenon it is, the more important it becomes to cherish it. After all no matter how beautiful the "Dooj ka chaand" (the crescent moon on the second day from new moon day) is, "Idd ka chaand" (the moon seen on the eve of festival Idd) holds more importance.
We always try our best to not let go the one day - The Sunday. Because on this day we get to behave and live the way we want to live. And if we get bonus like the voting day, how can we resist the temptation to feel free. And it is this temptation that gives rise to the cynical views when it comes to voting. We hide behind this cynical attitude just to justify our stealing the purpose out of this one day. The primary purpose being "To Vote". Our excuses?!!! Well its just one vote how does it matter? The whole system is corrupt, even if i give my vote sensibly what is the guarantee that others will? At times it even goes to the level of "I was feeling very sick and hence could not go out!"
Well i am not writing this post to tell you what has been told by hundreds of other videos, ads and articles, prepared under various campaigns to educate people to vote and vote sensibly. But what i am pointing out is that i have seen a ray of hope from these very people.
The ray of hope was in the form of people coming out of their homes, and spending their most important "Sunday" for a cause. But before we start dreaming of a better future, we have to analyze why these people are ready to spend their important Sunday even when they don't feel motivated to spend the voting day to its right use. Is it just the cause? The Anti-Corruption movement? Well there had been more than hundred protests in the past related to this cause but none has gained such a support of people.
I think the answer lies in a word which defines relation between two individuals - "Trust". Its more of a trust or a larger hope which is riding on the trust towards the very people who are leading this movement. And what generates this trust is the fact that here is a set of activists who are not just protesting but are proposing a solution. A solution, which is at least logically correct if not fully technically or practically correct.
One can always argue that this may not be the right way to get things sorted. This is more of a "blackmail". But I look at it with a different angle. I look at it as a step in getting the trust of people towards a set of people who are real activists, who want to really bring change to this society without seeking any personal favor.
This movement has proved that people are no more ready to stay inside their home and spend relaxing Sunday. They are ready to come out and voice their views provided they have someone whom they can trust to lead and do the rightful. So what is now required is to make sure that this agitation does not go cold and in the meantime, we prepare ourselves to take a bigger step of being directly part of the government.
I compare this protest to the heating process of an iron bar. And when its the right time, the time for election, the time when the iron really becomes read hot, I believe that people will be ready to come out of their home and hammer it hard with their votes. With a possibility of 1.2 bil hammer shots, forget about iron we can reshape Titanium!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
From a techie to a social protester
I never endorsed any kind of protests / rallies. Being a cynical hardcore techie, I always felt that only those resort to such thing who dont have anything else to do. I also had cynical views towards the people taking part in such protests/rallies/marches. I used to think that not more than 20% of such crowd will even know why they are protesting. I even hated such demonstrations and protests as they raise inconvenience to other common people who may not be directly concerned with the movement.
But that dosen't mean that I had no feelings or emotions towards my society or my country. Whenever there is anything related to our Nation, I become emotional. Even today, National Anthem makes my Tshirt become XL from L. Patriotic Songs like "Vande Mataram", "Ma Tujhe Salam", "Ae Mere Vatan ke logo", "Kar chale hum fida" etc bring shivers through my body.
I recollect feeling that i was having while I was coming out of the theater after watching "Rang De Basanti". That was firstly because of the topic that struck the right cords connected to common man like me and secondly it was a well orchestrated and directed feature with all the right music and other effects. Two days ago, I had the same feeling.
No, I haven't been to movie theater this time. This time it was a road which had been so regular to me that I would have passed by it more than hundred times before. But this time there was something different. I was on a two wheeler. The traffic was moving at a snails speed. Ahead of me there was a group of near 40-45 motor cyclists with tricolors in hands. Those people were shouting slogans ranging from "Bharat Maata Ki Jai" to "Anna Hazaare tum aage badho, Hum tumhare saath hai".
I could never imagine to be a part of any kind of protests on street or to shout at the top of my lungs on public streets. Even that day when i joined that two-wheeler rally, i was quite (or i was trying to stay quite.). But then suddenly the motorist besides me shouted "Bharat Maata Ki" and within a flash after him finishing, my mouth opened and my ear heard one unbelievable voice of my own. "Jai" was the word that I remember hearing from myself. Strangely it was difficult for me to comprehend that how can the same environment be generated by just a group of people in an open street which i experienced in a closed theaters with a well directed feature and best sound effects.
The first shout was the icebreaker. After that without thinking any further, my voice joined the chants and shouts for the rest of the rally. In fact there were stretches when others stopped chanting the leading lines, I was the one giving the lead followed by huge roars. I just cant express the feeling that I had after getting huge roar to follow my lead from people whom I never met before or will never meet again.
This movement has something special that is making people in individual capacity to join. They are not being brought in trucks or buses or neither they are getting paid to be a part of it. For the first time people are joining because they really want to support. Cause the issue is something that relates to every individual from every class. Strangely, this movement even has support from the other side of the barricade. This movement can never be compared to the likes of Egypt, Myanmar etc.
Frankly speaking in spite of voting for a rational person (Mr. Arun Bhatia) in last LS election, I saw Kalmadi winning it with huge margins. I surely had lost my faith in the democracy that we practice. I never thought that I, in my individual capacity will ever be able, to be a part of bringing change to this country. But this movement has opened my perspective. And yes from a hardcore techie who preferred to limit his views to his friends circle sitting under sheds, I have become a protester who is not shy of voicing his views at the top of his lungs in busy streets.
Jai Hind!
But that dosen't mean that I had no feelings or emotions towards my society or my country. Whenever there is anything related to our Nation, I become emotional. Even today, National Anthem makes my Tshirt become XL from L. Patriotic Songs like "Vande Mataram", "Ma Tujhe Salam", "Ae Mere Vatan ke logo", "Kar chale hum fida" etc bring shivers through my body.
I recollect feeling that i was having while I was coming out of the theater after watching "Rang De Basanti". That was firstly because of the topic that struck the right cords connected to common man like me and secondly it was a well orchestrated and directed feature with all the right music and other effects. Two days ago, I had the same feeling.
No, I haven't been to movie theater this time. This time it was a road which had been so regular to me that I would have passed by it more than hundred times before. But this time there was something different. I was on a two wheeler. The traffic was moving at a snails speed. Ahead of me there was a group of near 40-45 motor cyclists with tricolors in hands. Those people were shouting slogans ranging from "Bharat Maata Ki Jai" to "Anna Hazaare tum aage badho, Hum tumhare saath hai".
I could never imagine to be a part of any kind of protests on street or to shout at the top of my lungs on public streets. Even that day when i joined that two-wheeler rally, i was quite (or i was trying to stay quite.). But then suddenly the motorist besides me shouted "Bharat Maata Ki" and within a flash after him finishing, my mouth opened and my ear heard one unbelievable voice of my own. "Jai" was the word that I remember hearing from myself. Strangely it was difficult for me to comprehend that how can the same environment be generated by just a group of people in an open street which i experienced in a closed theaters with a well directed feature and best sound effects.
The first shout was the icebreaker. After that without thinking any further, my voice joined the chants and shouts for the rest of the rally. In fact there were stretches when others stopped chanting the leading lines, I was the one giving the lead followed by huge roars. I just cant express the feeling that I had after getting huge roar to follow my lead from people whom I never met before or will never meet again.
This movement has something special that is making people in individual capacity to join. They are not being brought in trucks or buses or neither they are getting paid to be a part of it. For the first time people are joining because they really want to support. Cause the issue is something that relates to every individual from every class. Strangely, this movement even has support from the other side of the barricade. This movement can never be compared to the likes of Egypt, Myanmar etc.
Frankly speaking in spite of voting for a rational person (Mr. Arun Bhatia) in last LS election, I saw Kalmadi winning it with huge margins. I surely had lost my faith in the democracy that we practice. I never thought that I, in my individual capacity will ever be able, to be a part of bringing change to this country. But this movement has opened my perspective. And yes from a hardcore techie who preferred to limit his views to his friends circle sitting under sheds, I have become a protester who is not shy of voicing his views at the top of his lungs in busy streets.
Jai Hind!
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