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Analysis | Share This Page | |||||||||
Importance of Anna Hazare |
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by Dr. Rajinder Puri |
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Mr. Anna Hazare has caught the imagination of the nation. For the first time India’s educated English speaking middle class, a little less than one third of the population has taken to the streets. No doubt the unprecedented coverage and exhortation by TV channels played a crucial role to spread the movement. While Mr. Rashid Alvi’s allegation of American inspiration or allegations by others of a foreign hand may be discounted, no doubt there are powerful interests encouraging the movement. Corporate honchos are uncharacteristically jumping on the bandwagon. Why, even Mr. SP Hinduja has made a stirring call against corruption through a newspaper article! Never mind how or why the nation has got galvanized in favour of Mr. Hazare. The bottom line is that Mr. Anna Hazare has become today the rallying cry for the people. Mr. Hazare is not the solution to the problems besetting the people. He is the symbol of national discontent. Corruption is not the only cause of popular discontent. Police atrocities, total lack of governance, terrorism, inefficiency, subservient foreign policy and a host of other grievances do not arise from only corruption. Nor is the Lokpal Bill, conceived either by the government or by Team Hazare, likely to end corruption. First of all there is need for a concrete, specific and concise agenda required to bring about political reform. JP’s movement had a simple catchword, “Total revolution”. Team Hazare has a simple catchword, “Jan Lokpal”. That is not enough for achieving a second Independence. With the wide popular support already achieved by Team Hazare it is a given that with requisite skill a national party can be created on the basis of an agenda for reform. Without a political instrument to implement the agenda the movement’s claims ring hollow. The new party should be formed on the basis of democratic principles with new membership drawn from the supporters who have taken to the streets. If any existing political party wants to join the new party it should be welcomed on the condition that it fully accepts the new party’s agenda and dissolves its own identity before a full merger. Only then would the movement successfully challenge the prevailing political culture and system in order to introduce genuine radical change. People may think it too early to consider a concrete agenda and a new party. People would be mistaken. The sooner the public is educated about the endgame less pitfalls would there be to achieve success. Perhaps Team Hazare has already factored all this in its calculations. If it hasn’t, it should. It requires a strong hand and a clear mind to hold the reins of a mass movement. |
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19-Aug-2011 | ||||||||||
More by : Dr. Rajinder Puri | ||||||||||
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Comments on this Article
R.S Tomar 10/15/2011 03:59 AM
P.C.Sharma 08/22/2011 05:00 AM
swati 08/21/2011 03:39 AM |
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