THE BANDWAGON EFFECT

“Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.”-Mark Twain.

From Ramlila Maidan in the national capital to the suburban district of Pauri in Garhwal, the nation is encompassed by the blanket named Anna. Protest marches, hunger strikes, rallies, slogan campaigns, loudspeaker announcements, and the list of media goes on till eternity. Residents of Anna’s native village,  Ralegan Siddhi, decided not to take a bath one fine day because their local hero was denied adequate bathing water in Tihar Jail. The famous Dabbawallahs of Mumbai ended a 120-year old tradition and went on strike for a day to stand tall in Anna’s support. Such is the magnitude of Anna’s aura that even the steadfast government seems to be melting. But before we follow the legion of “visionaries”(euphemism for judgemental) and go on to call Mr. Hazare “Aaj ka Gandhi”, let us take a moment off and introspect the nature of the Anna phenomenon, or as it is being referred to by western media- “Annamenon”.

According to the Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index(CPI), India is the 91^st most corrupt country in the world, with Afghanistan leading the pack. However, the problem of corruption in India has murkier implications because there are very few countries in the world where corruption is as rampant and widespread as it is in India. From the traffic policeman at a red light, to the bureaucrat at the zenith of babudom, everyone seems to be corrupt. In consideration of these established notions , a strong mechanism needs to be devised to eradicate corruption from our country, something which the citizens of this country feel the Jan Lokpal Bill will be able to provide. So they skip college, take leave from office, or pull down their shutters  to peacefully protest at Ramlila Maidan.

So let us just for a minute assume the Jan Lokpal Bill is passed by the Parliament in its current form and a Lokpal is established which functions as an anti-corruption vigilance agency.Who can guarantee that it will deliver what it promises? Back in 2005,the RTI was believed to be the harbinger of a corruption-free India. Nothing much has changed since then, in fact a pessimistic view will say things have only worsened cause hidden wounds are now visible. Moreover, judging by the existing levels of corruption in our country, how can one expect the Lokpal to not turn into a corrupt body in itself? Yes, the draft provided by the civil society does provide remedies for all these issues but in essentiality, the Jan Lokpal also aims to tackle issues for which solutions already exist in the Constitution. The sole purpose is fast tracking arising out of centralisation of anti-corruption agencies. So in a way the Lokpal will tackle flaws in implementation rather than in formulation. However, providing it with police powers, bringing the judiciary and the PM under its purview and giving it other privileges  because the civil society wants it to have “teeth” will lead to centralisation of power and autonomy, something  strictly against the federal nature of our democracy. Is it in the spirit of democracy to vest such great power in the hands of 10 people constituting the Lokpal? What if such a body turns into a Communist politburo? The parliamentarian form of democracy ensures that every 5 years the popular party in the country forms the government. If the power to vote FOR a party is a great power our constitution has given us, then the power to vote AGAINST a party is an even greater power. If the people of this country come out in such great numbers on the polling day as they did the day Mr.Hazare went to jail, maybe we would have less people cribbing about the system.

Having said this, it is but a naïve thought to believe that Anna’s cause is right, methods may be controversial. His comparison with Gandhi is similar to a movie in post-production already being declared a blockbuster. The action of the ruling party to get him arrested was uncalled for, yet it seems to be a blessing in disguise for Team Anna, because now they have more people, a larger ground to protest and better amenities. Their determination also seems to have become stronger. However, the line of separation between “determined” and “obstinate” is only Angstrom thick, with Team Anna seeming to be on the wrong side of it. Achievement of a consensus with the government should be the mandate, rather than hapless protesting/fasting. Nothing great can come out of being anti-government (or anti-corruption as some call it), especially in a democracy. If free thinkers are expecting a Libya or an Egypt, they can put their thoughts to rest and enjoy Sunday matinees. Being a part of a revolution is always a good feeling, provided one knows what the revolution is for. If complete removal of corruption is the aim of this revolution, then it shall be grammatically incorrect  to call it a “revolution” till the time it achieves its aim. For the purpose of maintaining the sanctity of the Queen’s English, we should till then just call it a “revolt”.

The propelling factor for the populace seems to be the untarnished image of Anna and his ideals of “simple living ,high thinking”. No doubt these are virtues tough to find. And no doubt these were virtues characteristic of people like Gandhi. However, in this India of the 11^th five year plan and economic liberalisation, it is ideal to be an idealist but it is un-real to be ideal. Anna might have all the right intentions but sadly intentions cannot be transferred via Bluetooth. Had he been campaigning for a social awakening like his idol Swami Vivekanand, maybe he would have benefitted the nation in a more fitting way. Dragging himself in the nitty gritty of the legislative process is brave on his part, but time will tell if it is wise.

Nandan Nilekani recently remarked that for the majority of Indians, corruption takes place at the interface between Government and common public. The complexities of the Government institutions lead to alternate paths being discovered by people, most of which are laden with corruption. In his UID scheme , his team plan to bring about a change in the way such things are tackled through the use of technology. If one has the option of doing a job without taking the corrupt route, there seems to be no reason why one will stick to corruption once such an institution comes into practise. What comes out of statements by Anna or Nilekani remains to be seen. As for the bunch of informed youth sitting out there, before you decide to pack your bag and join Anna at Ramlila Maidan, take a minute to contemplate the actual reason that is propelling you to go. Are you really going to make a difference or are you just jumping onto the bandwagon?

TERRA INCOGNITA

               It will not be a complete misnomer to believe that human beings are no different from Android applications,specifically programmed to intake a fixed set of inputs,process them and produce the desired output.However as times change so do demands. As demands change so do supplies.Hence we have the ever so affable Apple Inc. rolling out next generation IPads and IPhones every quarter in an effort to "reach out" to consumers.Without digressing further from the analogy which forms the contextual subject of this writing,human beings tend to stringently indulge in established notional tendencies of conventionalism simply because it provides them with an easy and (and as said by 45 year old Railways employee Mr. Sharma to his 17 year old wannabe rap-star son  Madhur,better known to his fraternity as Rapper Maddy) "secure" life. So as legend has it, to break free from the stereotype one needs to barter the ever so weighty and precious factor of security,not to mention a few other things that also have to be partaken with.

Many have seen visuals of the smiling nurse tenderly carry a newborn out of the maternity ward to the ever so expectant family members and boldly announce,"Mubarak Ho! Aapko ladka hua hai ". The rest is history. But let's take a moment off here and spare a thought for the non-voyeuristically nude package that has just been delivered to this big bad world. What does life have in store for him? Over the years he will develop, evolve, change, metamorphosise, and the list of adjectives goes on till eternity. However a significant adjective that conveniently dodges memory and sneaks into some Nazi safe house is Institutionalise. The institutions of society, family, education, money, religion and country shall slowly consume his existence. His birth ,too, is the end product of institutions of marriage and subsequent coital interactions,worst cases neglected.So in this age of fiction let's just for a moment visualise a world with no institutions.Yes I know that for a moment all that will come to mind is Adam and Eve in a garden with the Forbidden Apple lurking in the background.But a thoughtful session of hypothesising or day dreaming , as cynics call it, provides one with more than he/she will expect. It sort of gives one the power to become an architect and design this world in his own image,a la-Inception (the movie) maybe. And this is the very reason why Mr. Tolkien and Mrs. Rowling are the largest selling authors of our times. Delving into the transcendental requires more courage than imagination,cause everyone is a dreamer but not everyone is a dream-weaver. So what is the opportunity cost of such an indulgence ?Lack of security? Going by the fact that J.K. Rowling is amongst the Forbes Top 1000 richest people in the world, I sincerely hope not. So go out , trust your instincts and find your terra incognita.