2011 Anna Domini

So..the mighty have fallen..FINALLY. And another old man with (almost) bokkai vai ends up all smiles akin to the smiling oldie on all our currency notes. What next is the question on everybody's lips. This is the problem with all major demonstrations involving mobs. They unite for a single common cause and the mob hysteria moves them towards achieving it. But once they reach the pedestal, thats when the common misgivings and selfishness and confusion creeps up. The villain all through the show was corruption. Yeah! Right. Corruption is the root cause of all evil and should be overthrown..demolished..destroyed at the root level. All said and agreed more than hundred percent. All these beg a simple question. WHAT IS CORRUPTION? People are so used to fight against individuals as villains, like protests against dictatorships or even election rallies in Tamil Nadu for that matter, that they picturise corruption also as a human and this time they have painted the Parliament with that colour. So before coming to the definition lets see who are corrupt.

So all the 500 and odd people elected - are they corrupt? Answer comes a resounding NO. Is it the PM? cha cha..Manmohan Singh and Vajpayee will always be right men wrong party or even wrong situations for that matter. But they can never be wrong. But yeah..they can be criminally negligent. Athu vera topic. But corruption..Nah. Is it Advani or the communists then? uhumm...he could be blamed for instigating the worst blood bath in post independent India but again..corruption..chancela. Communists might be castigated for burying their head in sand against industrialisation or for being hypocrites of the first order. Irunthaalum..corruption?? cant point any. Lalu? yes. Kalmadi? YES. Avangala thaan ukkathi vachaa chay. So vera yaaru thaanpa corrupt? Appo yaaru thaanpa corrupt? Ivanga rendu per mattum thaana? Oru vela Anna Hazareku permission kudukaathathunala Sheila diskshit and Delhi govt corrupt sollalama? Illa for not hearing the pleas for a commission to finalise the bill to pass it in Parliamentkaaga PMO va sollalama? Illaati, considering that the bill would be a "sontha selavula sooniyam" none of the opposition joined the party against the government, even at the cost of losing credibility in front of the nationgarathaala motha oppositionayum solalaama?

Corruptionna enna? Is it just bribe? Getting caught while accepting bribes and giving bribes are the only incidents which media is interested in showcasing or which attract criminal charges. These incidents are those which carry more masala for media to make hay and nice scoring points for political parties to throw muck at each other. So if everyone who takes or gives bribe is brought to justice India will become corrupt free state?? What do you call a minister who hardly has any time to visit his constituency but has ample time to attend all crap opening ceremonies or to accept OC doctrate pattams ? What do you call a government official who comes to office at ten leaves for lunch at 12 returns back to take nap at 3 and leaves for home at 5. DISCLAIMER: Namma naatla 50 Lakh Govt employees irukaangalaam. Dont want to quote stats like Gabtun Vijaykanth. This particular barb is pointed at those who are as mentioned and criticised and not to paint a generic picture. So dont come up with cudgels to bash me. Coming back to the topic.

So..the ramlila maidan crowd has finally achieved the impossible. Enabling the deaf ears of the government with hearing sense. WHAT NEXT? Abolishing corruption is a vision statement. A very very vague Project charter, in my line of works terminology. Next step would be, i believe, to define the scope. Going by the likes of it and with the titbits of info i got from reading biased newspapers and watching all those craps floating around on news channels, i guess they are planning an alternate government. Alteast thats what it sounds to me. C'mon. You never vote to save your life and elect all idiots and bestow them with power to decide your fate and now want a separate panel of members to guard how your supposedly servants work??!! Rubbish. 5 Million Government staff under Lok Ayukta panel!!!! How many staff would be required to supevise 5 Million people?!! Who would provide the infrastructure? And above all, how does one form such panels?? After all the elected reps dint came from Mars and from right amidst us. So whats the guarantee that the new panel would be any different from the old one? Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

I love this people protest against corruption. There has been jasmine revolution rocking the Arab world ricocheting till China. There has been bloody massacres in Syria and Libya and countless other African nations with population not even the size of Tamil Nadu. Yet, the biggest democracy in the world, shows again how battles are won. It proves once again the power of Satyagraha and for those who never had a chance to witness the every smiling oldie on our currencies, in flesh and blood, Anna was god sent. He gave them,us, a chance to redeem ourselves, re-live the pre independent struggle and gain satisfaction for doing something for the society with the belief that they are doing the right thing. Anna has achieved the first of the ten impossible things - unite people from Delhi to Dharmapuri. The next 9 tasks are no less demanding. He has opened the Pandoras box and the story has suffered a reversal here. HOPE was the last thing to come out of it. In this case its the first one to spring out. And all the miseries of the world are just waiting in their wings to spread out. Anna would do well to remember that, even Gandhi couldn't control a Chauri Chaura and for that matter, as much as the fact that he held his fort pretty much well against the British, he was assassinated by a local and not by them.

This movement like any other in past or present, is and should NOT be an ONE MAN SHOW. Anna Hazare and handful of people..avangala nambi thaan motha movementumna..its a waste of time. It needs more and more foot soldiers to take up responsibility than to expect a messiah ala Anna in every street. Corruptionku againstana fight sollitu..rather than targetting individuals, the movement should focus on principles it aims to achieve. Like any project, the first step of winning the project against competition is not alone sufficient. Its just the tiniest of victories. The real victory comes during Post Go Live. I hope and pray with all my sincerity that this doesnt end up all in waste. For when this one fails, the first thing to take a beating would be peoples HOPE against goodness in public life. So next time, when you light a candle supporting the movement or raise a slogan against the government, think for a second that WE ARE RESPONSIBLE for BOTH of THEM. We are the Frankenstein and we created the monster and the monster reside in each of us. And whatever crusade we undertake would again be, against us, involving us and may result in curing or cursing us again. Its an imminent paradox and is something worthy to resolve.

Godspeed people.