India for all its progress is still beset by deep-lying issues.A nation that can take great pride in its heritage, diversity and traditions has now fallen prey to poor governance primarily caused by corruption and a sheer lack of empathy on the part of government officials.
Those who lead the world’s largest democracy often blatantly ignore the rights of those they serve for their own benefit. Bribery and palm-greasing has become the norm, or perhaps more accurately, a way of life. While the pockets of a few bulge, democracy as a whole is decaying.
All hope for change is not lost of course. While those who constitute India’s lower and middle classes have grown weary of the way the country is run, a sincere leader who is truly able to channel their pain and frustration in a meaningful way could finally inspire great social change.
Some believe they have received just this in the form of Anna Hazare, a former soldier in the Indian army and social activist whose record as a vehicle for change at a local and state level is very commendable.
Hazare has now set his sights firmly on ridding the nation of corruption. In the process he has garnered the attention of the central government and become the news media’s main focus. While both of those are vital ingredients for a movement such as his to be successful, serious concerns have arisen over his means and ultimate goal.
While the actual outcome he preaches for may be creditable and noteworthy, Hazare’s actions leave a lot to be desired. His supporters — which include a few well-respected individuals and largely those from the middle class — have not shied away from making unfounded comparisons of their leader’s philosophies to those of Mahatma Gandhi.
He has even undertaken more than one fast-unto-death just as Gandhi had as a mark of civil disobedience. While they seem to believe it is very democratic for him to either get his way or commit suicide, one seriously doubts if Gandhi would have ever done the same where a democracy existed.
Another concern many have regarding his movement is the composition of the crowds he draws. It is quite possible that they are largely comprised of members of right wing political parties that are trying to stir up more trouble for the central government. While the crowds have remained peaceful in nature so far, one cannot help but fear the situation might take an ugly turn. This would create a great problem for India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who while being an honorable and intelligent man has shown enough signs of being a hapless and indecisive leader. Of course, that is not to say that Hazare is a great catch and golden egg amongst leaders.
Despite being evidently street smart and savvy, he is poorly educated and cannot read or write in English, the very language the bill he promotes so vehemently has been drafted in.
However, the glaring problem with Hazare’s plans is that the Lokpal Institute will be susceptible to weak or corrupt leaders. India has shown a tendency to let good initiatives decay over time. Nobody can truly say the evil Lokpal plans to abolish will not eventually seep in to ruin it from the inside and turn it into yet another money making operation.
While it is all well and good for Hazare to behave like an anti-corruption crusader, it is important not to forget that India’s economy has not grown the way it has by consisting of naive and gullible citizens. People can easily pick out the holes in Hazare’s plans and ideals. However, what he does have on his side are the lower and middle-classes who have been oppressed for decades. They harbour strong feelings of resentment towards the country’s administrators for having done nothing but fail them repetitively with false promises and the kind exploitation that they often haven’t even cared to be subtle with.
Akbar Iqbal is a junior international student majoring in psychology and business. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].
