Anna Dissolves the Team

‘IT IS THE MARK OF AN EDUCATED MIND TO ENTERTAIN A THOUGHT WITHOUT ACCEPTING IT’*

With the news about Anna Hazare’s announcement of disbanding the team, which was pivoting the movement for the passage of the Jan Lok Pal Bill in the Parliament to fight and rein in corruption in public life; the obvious has happened. The moot question which begs to be answered is the turn around, which brought about this declaration within days of the fast unto death being terminated, in the wake of a desire to plunge into politics and provide to the people a political alternative within the confines of the existing democratic system in the country. When Anna had suggested a political option, as a viable one, while sitting on fast at Jantar Mantar; it drew an instant response from me to engage with Anna and to dissuade him from doing so, not for any other reason but the futility of entering into a field of activity about which none from the Team had any idea about. Anna’s agitation against corruption was at best a civil society movement, which had found resonance with the urban population and as was seen in the 18 months of its existence, with Jantar Mantar in New Delhi as its hub. There is a discernible difference between a social upsurge on a people’s issue and undertaking a resolve to provide a political alternative at a national level on the same. Anna’s forte has essentially been to pick up social causes and issues in his resident state of Maharashtra and to carve out a viable resolution to people’s problems, which impact life and living. His success in his social experiments, in his own village of Ralegaon Siddhi in Maharashtra, became the frontrunner for his emergence at the national level as a leader of standing and stature around whom a national movement could be developed. His solution to prevent alcohol abuse among people, by tying them around a tree and thrashing them into obedience, was as politically incorrect as it can be in the present times of liberalisation and human rights, in the twenty first century. It is no surprise that Anna has not been able to provide a political alternative; which means a political party different from the 1100 or so already in existence in the country at the regional and national level, in his parent state of Maharashtra. Corruption continues to run rampant here and with the nexus of the heavy weights of politics and industry, who call the shot and influence most aspects of policy making and governance, Anna’s personal ideology is insignificant in the larger matrix of life and living. It is best confined to making incremental changes in the cultural and economic canvas of villages, which are willing to accept his brand of thought and innovation. Politics is not Anna’s beat; only because the system which draws strength from the people to sustain its ideals is an evolved form of government that has come upon us rather prematurely and too soon. Riddled with poverty, deprivation and hunger; where literacy and education are struggling to make their presence felt amongst the huge majority of the people, who are not as yet empowered to see the larger picture as it would unfurl itself, beyond caste, community, religion and the emotional strangle hold of the Nehru – Gandhi scions; politics in India is a far cry from what the Constitution envisaged it to be. Sixty two years of democracy has brought with it many gains, but it has also adversely impacted national character, to the detriment of its underlying essence and spirit. In such a barren field of politics, where money, muscle and an unholy nexus between morally bankrupt people is its hallmark; what chance will a man of Anna’s resounding moral and ethical stature have to make a mark?   

Anna retracting his steps from his earlier intention of going political, albeit by providing support to the chosen candidates desirous of contesting elections in the political mainstream  of the country; is a consequence of his considered reflection upon the feedback received from many well wishers  who were able to see beyond the immediate and prophecy a lost cause for him. The initial successes of people who were associated with public causes through various NGOs, emboldened them to chart deeper waters of national significance and attain visibility. Anna provided an ideal rallying point for their aspiration and equally drew him into a just cause of fighting corruption; a cause which was close to his heart while he was spearheading various agitations and movements in his home State. Anna as the fulcrum of this movement was an ideal situation to have for the activists, who buckled up rather prematurely from carrying on with the same and for no good reason, gave up the agitation at Jantar Mantar. The referendum which was not even .0000001 % representative of the total population of the country and the counsel of the 21 civil society luminaries, who advised against the continuation of the fast, was used as a clever ploy by the Team members to make a face saving exit from their commitment to pressurise the government to pass the Jan Lok Pal Bill in the monsoon session of the parliament. Such a volte face on a matter of an earlier undertaking of do or die seemed rather strange. The government’s jibe at the activists about having a political ambition and piggy backing on the shoulders of Anna to further their intent, has justified itself. We all are aware of the humongous effort involved in launching a political party/movement and the costs involved in doing the same. But here was a situation which was waiting to be exploited and had been carved out from the social movement under the stewardship of Anna Hazare. The social activist got duped into the suggestion without analysing and weighing the pros and cons of such an alternative. What was meant by a political alternative? Was it to be something which was different from the prevailing all party democracy system, which we have under the constitution? That is not what it turned out to be. Instead, it was just a ruse to launch another political party which would have selfless and principled people driven by extreme patriotism, rectitude and probity with a spirit of service and dedication. These are but platitudes which must surely be adorning the charter and manifestos of most political parties, who have brought the country to such a pass, that an alternative is being created. The yawning chasm between precept and practice could not have been more evident as it is in the case of our polity, where success by any means is the leitmotif of most dispensations.

That the reality of the situation has sunk into Anna and he has taken the decision to dissolve the Team which was purpose specific, is a case of better late than never. Anna had been drawn into the killing field of politics by the intransigence on the part of the government to engage with the Team and by the veiled and covert intent of those who wanted to fulfil their political ambitions, by using the movement as a launch pad for their designs. The case of general (retd) V K Singh, who made a grand public appearance and shared the dais with Anna and his Team, is a testimony to this conjecture. There must be many others too who nurtured such a desire by riding on Anna’s credentials and prospering under his shadow. Therefore, while Anna may have been slow to grasp the motivation of the people who were eager to succumb to the suggestion of the civil society luminaries, it is good that he has finally been able to see through the game plan of those who harboured larger political ambitions, by leap frogging on the movement. I am very happy that Anna has dissolved the Team, because otherwise a gentleman and a simpleton would have been tricked into doing something about which he has no clue or else idea about. Anna it is a matter of extreme pride for those of us who know that, it is better to lose the whole world than to lose oneself. This is the lesson which gets driven by your decision, for which the media is at a loss to understand.  

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal

+919410900051

*Aristotle.