Anna Hazare and anti corruption movement

                  Its seventh day of the fast of Team Anna and 3^rd day of Anna Hazare himself and even from the outset the look and feel of this agitation appears different from what it was just a year back, when it was termed as second freedom movement and Anna Hazare hailed as next Gandhi with due justification. Throngs of people gathered on these fasts and rallies and millions more worked behind the scene , on internet, blogs and social networking sites to spread the message, media hailed it a truly historic movement and true to its impact, govt literally bent to accommodate most of their demands and Lokpal felt like a distinct possibility, in not too distant future.

                  What happened in next one year is not what people anticipated, at least ones who genuinely expected a change. It got stuck in parliament once again as there couldn’t be any consensus on several key issues. Political mudslinging ensured that the Lokpal is thrown to back burner again, Anna Hazare trying to revive it again but even he wouldn’t have expected the kind of response they are getting this time around. Its no longer a monumental movement that media had described it only 12 months back but how in their analysis it turned into a disaster as team Anna supposedly lost strategic and political game against govt. How after attacking 162 parliamentarians with criminal background they lost support of very people who were supposed to help them pass the legislation, how they should have kept mum on 15  tainted ministers including one who heads the group and one who was elevated to the honor of first citizen of the country.  Media is literally gloating over the lack of crowd in agitation this time and their coverage is limited to that .Even ordinary citizen seems distracted and confused and clueless, at least that’s what appear from the outset if crowd is any indication of popularity of an event.

                  So what went wrong, if any ? A seemingly easy question but very difficult to find a definite answer. Obviously an impartial observer would say strategies of Anna Hazare and team were not flawless and that’s a fair statement , but fair only in sixty four squares of a chessboard.  Are we talking just strategies here, a political game where a see saw battle is expected and you couldn’t be a winner all the time . Was that all this movement all about , a game of one-upmanship ? Most of us who genuinely expected it a historic movement would vehemently disagree.

                  The basic issue remains the same, corruption. Why we aren’t this time talking about that ?  Even a cursory look of  corruption charges against ministers (http://news.indiaagainstcorruption.org/iac_new/index.php/tainted-ministers-documents ) evokes strong suspicion of doubt in the mind of ordinary citizen. Arent conduct  of public servants need to be always beyond any reasonable doubt and aren’t they need to be under scrutiny all the time ?  Why isn’t  there any public debate to see if there is any need for the SIT ? Why transparency and governance to those sitting in highest office  optional and  not absolute must ?  The list of questions are endless and one must strive to find an answer , mostly within oneself before looking to find it outside.

                  Fact  remains that our leaders come from the same society that is ridden with corruption itself. Have we cleaned ourselves before targeting and cleaning corruption in the society ? Have we stopped giving bribe to traffic violation to the cops , have we as employees of govt and private offices resorted to a clean and transparent process that is free from any malpractice ?  Why am I wrong to assume that the crowd that associated with Anna’s movement last year included people from dubious intents  , people who talked against corruption but had no intention to clean themselves as a pre requisite. Any movement will lose steam in such circumstances.  If we tried to get rid of corruption on the support of these very people, we probably were wrong to start with.

                  True , society reflects collective instinct of the people  it consists off.  The changes have to come within ourselves before it transcends into sustainable and game changing moment for the society and that’s not easy. Its an arduous task that will need handwork, commitment and above all sacrifice of all sorts . Are we ready to do that ? If not we will continue the game of mudslinging because that’s all we know and have inculcated in our thought process .

                  Its grim even to think where we are heading next.

Rajesh Khanna

Last few days is all about Rajesh Khanna and rightfully so,the first superstar of hindi cinema deserved that and much more . Yes much more and I do emphasis on this fact because probably it took the death of  the superstar  to awaken media , public , his friends and his closed ones and sit and notice how great Rajesh Khanna was in terms of his cinematic contribution and there lies the irony .

For last 20 years or so, people barely knew that Rajesh Khanna existed and was breathing and had the same greatness that he possessed after 18th july 2012 post 1:40 PM . I doubt generations of 90s and 2000 even knew Rajesh Khanna and if they did , understood the charisma , magic and  exuberance that he possessed .  Notwithstanding  all the flowing and tearful tributes and accolades that he received posthumously , Even 1% of that in his last phase of life would have made him proud and not live a life of complete solitude and isolation . Wish some of the media people had gone to him in 90s and 2000s and highlighted his achievements,   wish someone from the prying media had offered him to write his biography and memoirs , Some film makers who continued to hog TV channels  and sang his greatness after his death had offered him a film just to make him feel wanted and part of the film fraternity,  His friends and colleagues should have gone to him , sit down for a cup of tea to make him realize he was still the same for them. But that was not to be and that’s why the entire frenzy after his death makes me cringe in anger and despair, it feels surreal and dramatic and bereft  of any sensitivity that the occasion demands.

And its not just Rajesh Khanna , I can count dozen or more greats who are living the life similar to Rajesh today and the farce of singing their tribute will start only after they leave for heavenly abode. Could we not make them feel special when they are alive and in utmost need of recognition and acceptance ? I hope everyone at least pause and ask this question to themselves before they move on .

Insensitivity of the people when they see stars even in sad moments like this is highly deplorable . It was also despicable the way some members of film fraternity used the moment like this to  promote themselves , as if it was a film party and not a somber moment that required dignity and silence for the departed soul . People who barely cared when Rajesh was alive were singing the songs of their proximity with him and it felt  callous , heartless and just plain opportunistic .

Rajesh Khanna probably understood this and his speech at  IIFA lifetime achievement award clearly conveyed what he felt….
यहाँ कल क्या हो किसने जाना ....

Sincerely
Rajeev