Will The Real Anna Hazares Please Stand Up?

India, today, is faced with one of history’s most baffling paradoxes. All the right people, at this point, are proposing all the wrong answers; and all the wrong ones, the right! I simply must explain further, because India’s identity as a real democracy might hinge on the actions we initiate as a nation today.

India, the largest democracy of the world, has today, woken up to the more than unfortunate truth, that most components of its democratic apparatus are, alas, corrupt! And those that are straight, are mere pawns of the corrupt! This puppet democracy, led by the feeble, fumbling though honest Dr. Manmohan Singh, is floundering in pain, and the balm is nowhere to be found.

Enter Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal and their crusader kin, or the group I like to call ‘The Means Justify The End’ club. Let me explain – this is a group that represents a section of the Indian Public, and at the risk of sounding bigoted, I say the ‘sensible’ section. It is effectively in the process of using blackmail as a means of pushing through authored legislation on behalf of what it claims is the public at large – and unfortunately, I believe the government to be right in refuting these claims.

A wise soul once said – A democracy is governed by the government it deserves. Translated, this would read – If people have the cheek to elect the uneducated, irrational and corrupt to power, or people with such orientation, they deserve to live as per the legislations of exactly such a government! Which is exactly what has happened at this point: today, India is governed by a Congress-led coalition, probably the most embarrassing the nation has seen in a while. What is more, a ‘large’ section of India’s population has now even realised this for a fact. Astounding is merely the fact, that in spite of this realization, the country cannot muster a set of politicians who can overthrow these corrupt ruling forces, notwithstanding the massive anti-incumbency and hence, the ‘citizen groups’ of this country are forced to revolt thus.

It was a proud day when India’s constitution was written, and it is an equally disgraceful time today, when India’s educated class, the very citizenry that is expected to understand and respect the ideals of this document, is forced to go against the very same ideals in order to reinforce the very government the constitution gave birth to.

It remains a fact that Team Anna represents but a positive, forward thinking segment of India, which probably holds the key to the creation of some quick, successful and stellar legislation which could potentially impact this nation for decades to come – but then, on the other hand, this country does not really deserve legislation developed by these great minds, until the point where they can be elected to office and constitute the Parliament – the true ‘representative section’ of the Indian Public, as deemed by the Constitution that we hold holy.

This can only put one question before all of us – Will the real Anna Hazares please stand up?

Against the Tide of a Billion Souls

Its been a while now. These questions have been plaguing me for quite some time, but I sense no answers at the horizon. I mean, are we that deluded as a people?

Such simpletons, that our governments have just had to pull rabbits like religion, corruption, petty politics, Pakistan and 'India Shining' campaigns out of their hats to ensure that we never got to see the real issues? Such ill-informed ignoramuses, that we haven't been able to identify a single powerful path-breaking leader since the days of Gandhi? Such religious chauvinists, that Ayodhya clouded our thinking about our next-door neighbors for two decades on end? Such attention-seeking clods, that we preach Hindutva one day, Secularism the next? Such unfeeling bastards, because of whom the people of Kashmir have taken blow after blow and withered away for decades? Such gutless chin-wags, that its the Kalmadis and Modis that capture our national interest and rake in the moolah for the tabloids and 'news'papers, rather than Education, Healthcare, Poverty, Crime, Technology - the Real Issues.

A 15 year old would tell you that India's need of the hour is change - strong-willed, motivated change propagated by the youth. And while I'm glad that we've had the good sense to blab on and on about this at conference after conference, it saddens me to see that we still haven't had success in the real political arena. Its still only a handful of the youth that make it to the Lok Sabha; only a handful that make it through Civil Services; only those many effective law enforcers. India's youth, for all its wagging tongues, is still one massive dormant force.

Believe me, my dream is to see a group of like-minded people, with the right blend of youth and wily old-timers, orators and enforcers, visionaries and volunteers, optimists and pragmatists, Khans and Iyers give the sham that is the BJP and the Congress - our 'Nationalist' parties, a much needed sprint for their money. Let this country be run as it ought to - of, for and by the people - for once. Let it be seen that putting the country before self isn't all that today's politicos make it out to be. Let the power of Two Billion Hands shake the globe. Let the Americas stand up, take notice, and show some respect.

Let us inspire change. To that stage, let us pledge to take Mother India. And let this start with you - now, today. Let it not take an Indian Kennedy to tell you 'Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.'

The Son That Was

Gitanjali was in her usual rush. It was getting 8 a.m., and it was time for Ramesh to leave for his 9 to 5 job as a clerk among the teeming millions that ran the great city of Mumbai, India. "Chalo beta, make it quick, na? Raja you will miss the train again...". "Haan Ma, just a second.... abhi aaya..." came the reply.

She saw him off with the usual "Hare Krishna....Come safely....and make it quick....Tell Ramji that you cannot wait late daily. Your timing is only upto 5 na? Put up a strong front today, ok?" The recent terrorist bombings may have been forgotten by the newspapers, but try and convince a mother's heart to believe that it won't happen again. A quick nod of the head, a resigned sigh, and "O.K. Ma" later, Ramesh was off onto the bustling Bandra street, making a beeline for the Railway Station. Gitanjali settled down then, for the best part of her day. She nestled into the couch in the sit-out, one of the only ones remaining in the crammed city, with the quintessential cup of teekhi chai that she so relished. She looked out to the slums below, and saw two kids playing about in the muck. Her eyes filled with tears, as she fell into that all consuming deep crevasse that is the past.....

"Push...push...harder...just like that...." went the encouraging voice of Dr. Rekha, and Gitanjali pushed with all her life and then some more. The pain was mounting. Just when she was sure she was breathing her last, the pain reached a stunning crescendo.... and then all that was left were her tears of joy, and a new life was born. She stared elatedly at her Ramesh, lying vulnerable in the sheets by her, and she could feel God in that moment, shining down upon her.

The brothers grew up extremely quickly, and when Gitanjali finally took stock of the situation, Ram was already at the end of his IIT education. It was only poor Ramesh that worried her, a paradox to his brother...bottom of the class, thin as a stick, timid little vulnerable child. Only she knew what a horrendous time that child had to see when he ventured out from under the umbrella that his elder brother had been.... Who would say that this was the brother of a class topper, a literary genius and sports great?

Over time, fate and fortune had its way....Ram was on the flight to Stanford, and Ramesh on his almost broken-down bike to the dingy corridors of Bidhanwala College. She kept feeling for her younger son in the depths of her heart, but nobody seemed to see the calibre in him that she did.

A few years later, she received a jubilant e-mail(letters were now "passe", "obsolete", you know? ) from Ram, announcing that he now was a proud Green Card holder. She wondered, in the back of her mind what made him so proud at all...but put up a mask of happiness. Then she made the request that she had so longed to make for all this time... "Beta, why don't you try and do something for our Ramesh there? Get him a job somewhere...You are in such a big position na?" Pat came the reply from the meritocratic dastard,"Hey mom, this is a world where its only hard work and merit that gets you places... He's got none of them. I will not do anything for him. Let him learn the hard way." She put down the phone, cursing herself for having had such a son in the first place.

Gitanjali and Ramesh lived in the family home on Ramesh's meagre earnings and the few dollars that Ram cared to send home. Ram was now coming of age. Gitanjali started quietly looking out for a beautiful bride for him. After a whole lot of deliberation, she decided on a quiet, homely Brahmin girl. She was waiting for his next call, so she could break the news to him and call him back home...

Crash!!!!! The tea was all over the floor. In her reverie, she had forgotten all about it's existence even. She swept the place, and got on with the grind of her insipid life...

A few days later, that much awaited call did come, but Fate had different plans for her... She lovingly inquired about his health, and then was just about to break the good news to him, when he cut her short. "Ma, I completely forgot to tell you about Anne. We've been having a live-in relationship for a year now. I was busy with her pregnancy for some time now." Gitanjali felt her whole world collapse around her like a stack of cards. "I'm so glad, Ma. She just delivered today, and John looks just like Dad!"

That conversation done, she picked up her unfinished cup of tea. Then she put it down. She needed something harder today....