The Lokpal Kolaveri !

Unfortunately I am not much surprised to see the Government of India behaving yet again like a class 5 student. They dont want to work, play, have fun at the expense of their father and mother, even if the mistake is their's they wont accept, they will spend the whole weekend partying around and only at 11pm on Sunday night they will start doing the homework and will complaint to their mom not to push them for completing the huge homework in 1-2 hours now.

Why does it always happens the same way. What was government doing from August, full 4 months. Why can these discussions, analysis happen well in time. 

I hope, looking at how things went on during 2011, Mr.Nilekani and Ms. A.Roy would like to rethink and revisit their articles, stance and opinion. Anyways, people have long forgotten their irrelevant statement and articles already, which neither contributed positively nor critically or negatively towards the Lokpal debate.

The government used its entire machinery in its totality in past one year so as to make sure that no strong anti-corruption bill is prepared, presented and passed in time. Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh have given speeches in recent past about their commitment to pass a strong Lokpal Bill, but the same people appointed Sharad Pawar about 11 months ago as the head of the committee responsible to prepare a strong anti-corruption bill. Income department was literally used a puppet doll to chase the IAC team. So instead of focusing on collecting Billions Rs. of outstanding Income Tax. In April they assured of August. In August they created a last moment crisis, suggested to make Lokpal a constitutional body and recently out of the blue they suggested to offer reservation to minorities in the Lokpal committee.

Interestingly if one reads and analyze the comments of MPs and Politicians outside the top 10 media savy, post gradute or PhD MPs and Politicians one can start believing what Om Puri once accidentally said out of emotional outburst few months ago.

On a positive note, I find all these political cards being played by Congress a positive development. NCPRI has a strong command over legislature but unfortunately they fail to understand the politics. Despite all their individual and collective brilliance they might not have been able to reach a stage where national debates are happening in great detail at various places across India for more than 6 months.

Now the reason behind my positive outlook despite of all this is the Bittu Singh Syndrome. Over the years I have observed all government officers, politicians using one of these Top 10 excuses over the years. Unfortunately media has not been able to dissect through these over done, stereotypical excuses and present real, in-depth and much needed analysis. Interestingly in the current case, due to tremendous and constant pressure created by team IAC over past One year, government has used and exhausted almost all of these excuses. So despite all this Kolaveri of government, I am sure what bill they might pass things are bound to change significantly in 2012!

So I ask the government why this Lokpal Kolaveri di? 

Free Willy Criticism !!

In my previous post, I tried to address some of the queries of those opposing Lokpal. I dont oppose the idea of opposing somebody, opposing some philosophy, discussing things out, criticizing someone to death, but we should be fair, we should be logical and should not commit the same mistakes for which we are accusing the other person. So here I am trying to address some more concerns primarily about romance and philosophy.

Highway or My Way- A popular misconception amongst the elite freewill thinkers who strongly believe that team IAC proposed Lokpal bill as per their dreams, whims and fancies and so they are killing the free will. I am not sure if they are aware of public consultations, debates, online referendums, meetings organized by team IAC across India between Nov 2010 and Apr 2011. I am not sure if they have analyzed it or not but the draft of Janlokpal bill as prepared by team IAC changed a lot between Nov 2010 to Apr 2011 and again between Apr 2011 to Aug 2011 as per suggestions made by several sections of the society, including government committee on Lokpal bill.

Before romanticizing with words such as free will and independent choices, we must understand that if there are problems with laws, provisions in constitution (none of which are sacrosanct by the way), they can be rectified, overcome by amending the laws, constitution.

Team IAC Against Political Class- I think we also need to distinguish between Cause and Effects.Team IAC was never against Politicians or government of the day. I am not sure whether you read about several letters and requests made by team IAC to government, including opposition parties before Ape 2011 to come meet, discuss about the Lokpal. After 16th of August the situation become Lokpal versus Politicians because of the actions and deeds of the ruling party, which nobody thought of/imagined before.

There was a clear lack of Political will, which made sure that Lokpal bill is never passed for 40 years and also made sure that the draft of Lokpal be made so weak that even after negotiations Lokpal will still be reasonably weak. And it is these acts which made the movement against Politicians (in addition to everybody's individual experiences with Politicians at personal, professional, theoretical levels)

Nothing/Everything will Happen- Those who are supporting Lokpal cause it will eradicate all corruption are simplifying the issues and so are those who are opposing stating that it will not achieve anything at all.

I think most of those opposing Lokpal bill are either opposing Anna as a person, or methods or team Anna or the recklessness of the crowd which was present in all the rallies, but which they are confusingly projecting as opposing Lokpal. In addition to imminent and obvious possible positive effects of Lokpal, we discussed about other indirect, long term and equally important benefits of Lokpal earlier in this post.

Yet Another Army of Bureaucrats- Yes, I agree that we need to simply the way we are governed and the way decisions are taken on our behalf. But we need to understand that India is a very unique country, a very unique democracy. I dont want to repeat the rhetoric about our cultural diversity here either, because all of us are well aware of it. So while, we need to simplify things, but we also need proper systems and agencies at all the levels (Panchayats, Block, Ward, City, Constituency, District, State, Nation). People are confusing this complicated political structure with structure of Lokpal. Infact the structure as proposed by team IAC is fairly simple and without much confusing hierarchies and conflict of roles and hay-wired responsibilities. As of now all these agencies working at various level are governed by different laws, most of them are left at sole discretion of politicians and hence are abused time and again. So they use this confusion to complicate the facts and make sure to sabotage investigations and hide truth.

So it is all the more important to have an agency which investigates and monitors all these agencies uniformly to avoid any confusion and give people many more chances to create confusion and get away easily after committing crimes.

Draconian Lokpal- Instead of worrying about draconian crimes and corruption, people are worried about the Lokpal before it started functioning fearing that the Lokpal will be a draconian agency which will rule this country with stick and nobody will be able to do anything about it. Perhaps the solution as provided by team IAC version of Lokpal will make the body a bit too large and with greater power and hierarchies comes bureaucracy and corruption slowly, silently from the back door.

However we have seen how swiftly our politicians resign taking responsibility for x,y,z go on holidays for a year and pop up again in some other state, some other bit obscure role. Sometimes or infact most of the times an issue has chains from the district, state to central government level,everybody from MP, MLA, SP, CM to Cabinet Ministers, everybody is involved. SO while on one hand decentralization of power is required, on another hand provisions must be made, so that the highes and the mighties cant easily dupe the laws, the Lokpals.

So, we must review the fine print, understand the bigger picture before unleashing our freewilly criticism before opening up a third, fourth or fifth front so as to appear different, grab attention and thus intentionally or unintentionally weaken this movement of the people, by the people and for the people so that the sanctity remains, the democracy remains and the fruits of progress and development can reach down the pyramid.

Shayad Daag Achhey Hain !!

This time, we dont need to rely on Saridon or Disprin to address the hangover of this recently concluded India Against Corruption movement or should we say recently halted movement.

Without getting into argument about whether Anna is today's Gandhi or his follower, or trying to analyze who contributed more to this nation Arundhati Roy or Arvind Kejriwal or whether Nandan Nilekani was right in outright rejection of this movement, terming it as inane, whether end justifies means, whether Om Puri was right in calling more than 50% of politicians useless, whether laws can be made on street, whether Civil society movements can substitute Parliamentary democracy or whether existence of Parliamentary democracy implies civil society should restrict its participation to voting and sending request letters to their elected representatives only, whether or not 90% of people who participated in the rallies knew anything about the movement or whether 1000s of volunteers who are paid for participating in pre-election rallies know anything about the election agenda of the respective parties, whether Irom Sharmila thought through before calling Anna movement artificial or whether media should be blamed for not giving her sufficient coverage or whether team IAC rightly harnessed the power of media, without trying to find what was the main reason behind reasonable success of this movement, whether it was simplicity of the man or the accumulated frustration about the worsening situation, about the inability to do anything meaningful, about the inability to get things done without getting harassed, let us look at some good, positive key takeaways for all of us.

Confrontations

Perhaps we were getting too cozy and comfortable with all this system of giving and taking. Slowly what started as uncomfortable reality became a habit, a indispensable part of our life and culture to some extent. It's almost very easy to miss the forest for the tree. We have been so used to maximizing the short term benefits ( by saving few minutes, few 100 Rs. etc.), that we forgot to review, assess and understand the disease which each and all of us were nurturing. The first step towards solving any problem is to acknowledge its existence. We cant bury our heads in the sand for rest of our lives and behave as if nothing happened. This movement raised a loud shout, in the heads of we the public and we and them the polity. Now, we are confronted and now we should not try to escape. This realization, this first step towards catharsis will have far reaching impact beyond any of us ever imagined.

Heros

Availability of information has changed the dynamics of game overnight in the favour of we the people. The way team IAC and several other social activists, several other real life heros came forward and got the appreciation they always deserved by masses. I am not in favour of blindly following these new found heros but somehow I hope and I believe that these old stalwarts will not let us down. Most importantly these new youth icons will encourage several others like you, me and us to take the road less traveled by.

Positive Outlook

We grew up in a society in which everybody believed that nothing will happen. We saw, we resisted a bit and soon we became party to it. Nobody ever imagined that things can change, perhaps because many of us lot of individual efforts to bring change, went invain to a large extent. At the expense of over simplifying the matter, I strongly believe that IAC movement has bolstered the confidence and developed a bit of positive outlook in all/most of us that, if we try properly, things can change.

I am sure this movement will inspire a lot of us to bring in the positive change in our locality, vicinity, in ourselves, our families AT LEAST in the short term. We have started believing in an age old adage - if we believe we can !

Front foot

This movement bought we the people, perhaps middle class people a bit more to the front foot. I think it is safe to assume that a huge chunk of middle class interact with state much less as compared to someone living in village near or below poverty line. This can be attributed to poor/mediocre services provided by government agencies (barring very few) and ability or should I say desire of middle class to move up the value chain. The participation has increased and though they may like it or not, but the factors based on which we the people will vote, will undergo a sea change in years ahead. So, stop taking us for granted and start working for what you are paid.

Back foot

Though most of politicians are writing things off stating that few lakhs of people were on street and its not a big deal. Manishankar Aiyyar and several other eminent politicians went on camera stating that we go out and meet several millions of people during election campaign ! I think they realized that they can no longer afford to neglect the middle class just because they do not vote frequently and religiously. In the back of their mind, the politicians in both ruling and opposition parties know that this movement resonated with millions and millions of people who might have not come on street this time but CAN come out when called properly.

Proactive Participation

I am sure, many more of us will take the proactive approach now or in near future in whatever ways possible to bring in the change we always wanted, we always observed during our overseas trips. If 1000s of us start taking baby steps in the right direction, soon we can have the giant leap which we always dreamed of for our family, our neighborhood, our cities and our country.

Shayad Daag Achhey Hain !!

Because we like to consume chocolates and intend to take bath and wash our clothes frequently, Indian and Multinational companies put up advertisements on TV channels and the rate of these ads is determined by the popularity of a particular program, which is mathematically conveyed as TRP. But this time the matter was beyond TRP ratings indeed. Right from day one when the movement started to even now, when the movement is temporarily on hold, government has tried its best to malign the team IAC in one way or another.The more they tried to throw mud on IAC team, the more news media houses got, more and more we the people got angry, more we came to know about the inability of you the elected representatives to do something constructive, in addition to sleeping in or bunking Parliament sessions altogether !

I am not sure if they are aware of this or not, but let me make this clear dear Parliamentarians we have been reading newspapers, watching channels for decades now, recently we have started blogging and now we are on the streets.

The credit goes to the political class and their relentless efforts to blemish the image of team IAC, magar Daag lagane se kuch achha hota hai to, shayad...

The Story of Magnifying Glass !

Magnifying Glass is usually used to read the fine prints. A classic and one of the most simplest of the gadgets, in use for centuries. For thousands of year, this magnifying glass was typically found in the house of the inquisitive and smart folks. Rarely in my house, because I was happy reading fiction, printed in bold.

Since the magnifying glass was not easily available, the I was not be able to read the books given to me by some mischievous boys, since the books were completely written in fine print. And so I was never read and tried to comprehend what the heck was written in that book. But life moved on and I never felt any pressing need to enlighten myself. And that's exactly what the mischievous boy wanted. He gave me the book, because he was obliged to, but he also made sure that I don't read it. To make sure that I don't read the book beyond couple of pages (In case I ever decided to read, by chance) the mischievous boy gave the book an insanely boring title and loaded first couple of pages with jargon. So rarely me or any of my friends dared to read beyond couple of pages. Surprisingly whoever read the book joined the gang of mischievous boys.

The mischievous boy was smart, very smart indeed. He managed to trick me for thousands of years. He never taught me how to read the book which he intentionally published in fine print, one version after another. He never gave me the magnifying glass. Once in a while, he casually requested me to read the book, but I was busy enjoying fiction. In parallel he gave me several other easy to read, far more entertaining books, with vivid images, eye catching titles and colours.

One fine day, I discovered the magnifying glass in the backyard of mischievous kid. Since I never cared to learn the actual use of magnifying glass, I started playing with it. After played for few hours I threw it in the dark corner. This was the same corner where I piled those books given by the mischievous boy. Accidentally it caught my eyes and I realized that I can read that fine print. It was all very clear now. Slowly I could read and understand what was written. With some really crucial help, I was able to comprehend the jargon as well. As I kept on reading, my fears started to surface, about what was written in those books. But I kept on reading more, with some help again, my fears started disappearing. Bingo !

I realized I was duped by the mischievous boy all those centuries. But then after reading some more books, I realized my mistake. I never cared to ask the mischievous boy about all those books he gave me. My life was going reasonably smoothly all these years barring few compromises, I never cared enough to read those books. Pretty soon, I shared my magnifying glass with my friends. I told them, what I learned from those books. And slowly the idea caught fire and rest we know is a history and it is still being written. But we need to be careful and should not repeat the mistake which mischievous boy committed. I remember watching the mischievous kid when he used the magnifying glass to gather the power of sun but ended up burning his own house!

The Beginning !!

Cast

Mischievous boys - Politicians, the Powerful ones

I - You, the common ones

The Books - Constitution, Laws, knowledge

AND

The Magnifying Glass - Internet, Media

Special Thanks

Crucial Help - Anna Hazare, Aruna Roy, Medha Patekar, Arvind Kejriwal and several other 1000s of selfless individuals who helped the me, the you and the society

Jan Lok Pal, India Against Corruption, Fast Unto Death and Democracy

I am sure the government never had a look at the ranking of India on Corruption Perception Index, otherwise they would have done something about it before India Against Corruption movement caught public sentiment!

Why despite of investing in so many schemes on employment, education and poverty eradication, not much has changed in past 20-60 years! How come nobody ever questioned the Ex-Prime Minister of India Mr. Rajiv Gandhi when he openly stated that ' Out of 100 paise of aid, only 15 paise reached the needy' ! This statement was once again endorsed by his son recently. How can the people sitting on the helm of power and authority say this AND do nothing about it for decades !!

Unfortunately I was wasted my time by watching this useless debate on NDTV I think the debate was badly anchored, what people were supposed discuss was not known and as always this debate must have added to the confusion of the masses even more, who are perplexed about various issues facing the nation. Anyways, I was able to gather some of the general qualms, queries and concerns have about the India Against Corruption Movement. To summarize some of those -

1. Gandhi ji used to fast for self cleansing and for the welfare of the society at large and Anna Hazare's fast cant be compared with Gandhiji fast !

2. Parliament is the supreme authority to pass bills, so why protests, dharna, hunger strikes .

3. Government is already doing so much about Corruption. So many ministers have been sent to jail in recent past, so dont challenge the credibility of the UPA government.

4.The bill is already presented to the Supreme Authority, the Parliament, so why fast ? By fasting unto death, team IAC and Anna is actually blackmailing the government, which is wrong, and why a deadline?

5. Who's team Anna? Whatever team IAC and Anna are doing is a gimmick, a farce and media child and is getting undue attention!

6. Far many more issues, many more people are doing fasts and have done fast, why has media not covered them properly?

7. Jan Lok Pal will not solve the problem of corruption, its rampant in day to day life, so why blame only politicians when the common man is corrupt from head to toe.

Sorry, but its going to be lengthy, so weak hearted may jump to the last paragraph.

1. Gandhi ji used to fast for self cleansing and for the welfare of the society at large and Anna Hazare's fast cant be compared with Gandhiji fast !

Team IAC and Anna said that Gandhi ji used to fight for what for their right and for what is fair and correct and that's exactly what they are doing- fighting for their rights, fighting for what they believe is correct and fair. I think the NDTV debate wasted precious time of the viewers by going into the technicalities, by discussing the time, date and venues for fast done by Gandhi ji pre-independence. The times are different, the context are different, the people for and against Gandhi ji were different, so I think its completely irrelevant to present debate to waste any more time and energy in comparing Gandhi ji with Anna Hajare.

2. Parliament is the supreme authority to pass bills, so why protests, dharna, hunger strikes !The bill is already presented to the Supreme Authority, the Parliament, so why fast ?

Without being an authority on Parliamentary affairs and Constitution, one can find so many loop holes, so many lacunas in the way parliament functions, laws written and enacted. So let's not get into that. The summary is - Constitution has been amended 100s of time in the past and constitution and parliament is not sacrosanct.

3. Government is already doing so much about Corruption. So many ministers have been sent to jail in recent past, so dont challenge the credibility of the UPA government. The bill is already presented to the Supreme Authority, the Parliament, so why fast ?

Not even once in the history of UPA/ Congress government they have attempted to analyze the reasons behind corruption, tried to find out the faults in the legal framework, constitution, judiciary and execution agencies and taken any bold steps to curb corruption. So please don't tell us about your (UPAs) intentions. If Supreme Court and Media has not broiled those issues, perhaps you would have been sleeping ever over CWG, 2G issues (which you anyway did for so many years, otherwise these scams wouldn't have taken place, right?). Everybody knows the role of Dr.Swamy and Supreme Court in ensuring proper investigations are done in 2G scam, everybody read about and hear the Radio tapes, so unfortunately Mr.UPA government you were not left with any choice but to do something, however nobody has been convicted yet and we dont think that justice will be done, the lost money will be recovered in 2G or CWG scam from the politicians and bureaucrats who's Swiss accounts benefited from these and many more scams.

Remember few weeks back when Baba Ramdev sat in fast on the issue of Black Money, government assured action, what's happening on that front ? Please dont tell us that everybody in your government was busy with Janlokpal Bill or perhaps in preparing strategies to make sure that IAC team dont get time to work on the bill!

4.By fasting unto death, team IAC and Anna is actually blackmailing the government, which is wrong, and why a deadline !

Because we are normal human beings, our common sense tells us that if we sow seeds of Neem tree, we cant expect the Mangoes ! The bill which you (UPA) has presented in the parliament is completely bullshit, spineless, hopeless bill. So how can we expect a strong anti-corruption agency as an outcome. For comparison between Janlokpal Bill (proposed by team IAC and Anna) and Lokpal (rather Jokepal) Bill as proposed by government, please review these article of Outlook or Times of India. You will realize how lame and useless Lokpal, government is proposing in the parliament. By excluding 95% of Politicians and bureaucrats, any common will tell you that, such a Lokpal will not achieve anything.

Now specifically about Why Fast !

Team IAC and Anna wrote several letters to PM, MPs, Sonia Gandhi before April 2011 requesting for meeting to discuss about Lokpal bill. NOBODY responded or showed any concern about team IAC and Anna Hazare. They were confident that many people have fasted in the past and lot of them have unfortunately died, so nobody can achieve anything by protesting against government. Unfortunately, after putting so much of drama by UPA government, they agreed to listen. The bill is pending for more than 40 years, so many people have filed petitions, wrote letters, requested governments to pass the bill, but nothing has been done. So how can members of society convey their demands to the government. The political parties don't even keep the promises they make during election campaign. Under constitution of India, no grievance redress al mechanism is in place, the government is not obliged to respond to the letters from ordinary citizens of this country then what can people do, so that they can be heard ! Outside the context of this debate, but everybody agrees that the Election process we have in this country, the so called democracy are all flawed and no political party is doing anything about it. So, Mr.Government the people will protest, shout slogans, write, fast and will do whatever they can to register their protests and you will have to listen to them.

Mr.Government you are so used to being lazy that perhaps you are not even aware that we the middle class face deadlines everyday, everywhere, there's a deadline to pay taxes, deadline to apply for Gas connection, deadline in the office, deadline from the client, so please get used to what rest of the India is undergoing. You will have to work within a deadline, it was not the case till now, but we the people of India have changed the rules. So please obey deadlines, else you will be fired.

5. Who's team Anna? Whatever team IAC and Anna are doing is a gimmick, a farce and media child and is getting undue attention!

Its really sad to know that people start alleging team IAC without knowing their background. They have not emerged overnight from nowhere !!

Basic Google search about Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan and Shanti Bhushan will give you details about their background and credentials. So I really feel ashamed of the people coming of national television or writing blogs about these people without even doing a very basic research.

So those who know them and read about them will understand that these people have been working in the field for years, fighting against corruption relentlessly. They do not crave for media attention and no power can corrupt them. Many other people working behind the scenes in team IAC are similarly infected, so please beware!

The movement got media attention, because government was not doing anything about corruption. Scams in every possible department have taken place in past 20 years, so what more should people wait for ? Of the 100s of scams, involving 1000s of billions of $, not even 100 people have been convicted and punished and NOTHING has been done to recover the money lost due to corruption.

6. Far many more issues, many more people are doing fasts and have done fast, why has media not covered them properly?

So you (UPA government) wants media to tell you on daily basis what you are supposed to do ? Agree, there are many more issues, but you are not doing anything about anything. So we the people will have to take the matters in our hand and start addressing one issue at a time. It's sad the most of the other issues have not caught the eye of media and common man as this movement has. This goes onto prove that how much common man is frustrated and media is providing the suitable platform this time.

Dont worry, we are at it and will make sure to solve all the problems which your Congress led government has created in past 50 years.

7. Jan Lok Pal will not solve the problem of corruption, its rampant in day to day life, so why blame only politicians when the common man is corrupt from head to toe.

The pseudo intellectuals and psychologists and sociologists will cite corruption as a deep rooted problem, in our blood, the indifference of the Indian masses at large and the corrupt activities in which people involved on day to day basis. All such arguments blames the common man and so all the super duper corrupt people (mostly those who have not been convicted or are charged under any case) points finger on everybody.

How can one give same punishment to a pickpocket and a terrorist! How can one argue that because someone killed someone in an accident, he will go on to become a serial killer?

So, we urgently need a strong, educated, powerful and independent agency to tackle corruption at all levels ! So how the hell can they say that the Rs.50 corruption done by a common man to get his birth certificate is same as Rs.5000 cr scam by Kalmadi or Madhu Koda !

What options does common man have? How can the government expect the common man to give a Petition, file RTI for each and every activity right from the illegal hotel, liquor shop license, delayed gas connection by HP/BP distributor, polluted drinking water and petrol mixed with kerosene, for the birth, the marriage and the death certificate, the post-mortem report of the only son so as to claim insurance, in the fodder, in the local stadiums, street light, damaged road and bridges and almost everything imaginable under the sun ! A 10th pass technician working in Middle East learns to obey the laws of the land and a highly qualified Westerner learns to bribe when in India to get things done ! Which means Indians are capable of following laws as well and perhaps better than westerners or easterners Provided We Have the Laws in place, the enforcement agencies and the judiciary in place !

I think you (UPA government) has not even read the draft of Jan Lokpal bill as presented by team IAC, members of civil society. Please understand that the if government goes by the civil society version of Janlok Pal, the day to day corruption common man is facing pertaining to traffic police, ration card, gas connection, electricity etc will be tackled as well. The present state of affairs is because public servants, bureaucrats, government officials and politicians are not afraid of the existing law and order, police, CBI and judiciary. All these agencies have been made complicated and are ultimately made to report to politicians, most of the time ignorant and uneducated.

So, we urgently need a strong, educated, powerful and independent agency to tackle corruption at all levels !

Anna Hazares message to the Nation for 15th and 16th August.

My Dear Fellow Indians,

A decisive battle against corruption has begun. We are not against any political party. We want systemic reforms. We want a corruption-free India. After all, what are the people asking for – a strong anti-corruption law which provides for honest and time-bound investigations and trials that result in jail for the guilty, confiscation of embezzled money and their dismissal from service? Are we asking too much? For two months, we were talking to the government. Government seems unwilling to take even small steps against corruption. Government appears insincere. We have met all prominent political leaders. We have tried everything. What do we do now? When I announced my indefinite fast from 16th August, the government threatened that they would crush us the way they crushed Baba Ramdev's peaceful agitation. Friends, this is a historic opportunity. We can't afford to lose it. We are determined to fight to the end. If they arrest us, we will peacefully offer ourselves. If they use batons and bullets, we will happily lay down our lives but will not leave the place. We will not retaliate. It will be a completely non-violent movement. “If you fast on 16th August, you will be crushed” – this is what they are saying. “We will impose section 144 on Jantar Mantar” – this is what they are thinking. But I say that if every citizen in this country takes off from his work from 16th August, comes on the streets in front of his house, at the crossing, with a tricolor in his hands shouting “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and raising slogans against corruption, they will fall short of batons and bullets. The government may arrest one Anna Hazare but how will they arrest 120 crore Anna Hazares? They may impose section 144 at one Jantar Mantar but will they impose section 144 on the whole country? And let me tell you – the police and army is with us. At traffic signals, policemen stop us, express their support and wish us well; at Raj Ghat, the policemen donated generously for the movement! So, will you take off from your work from 16 August? Will you descend on the streets with me? This year, the country will wait for 16th rather than 15th August. In solidarity,
thanks

Anna Hazare

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“WHY GOVERNMENT'S LOKPAL IS DANGEROUS???”

Government's Lokpal is targeted against those who raise their voice against corruption rather than to punish the corrupt!

The government's Lokpal bill covers only about 0.5% of public servants, yet it brings under its ambit virtually every citizen's group and organization, registered or unregistered, meant to serve the social sector. This raises a pertinent question -- whom is the Lokpal really targeted at? There are more than 1.25 crore central and state government employees. Out of this merely 65,000 Group A Central Government employees would be covered in the government bill leaving out all the lower officers and staff. This effectively means that there is no remedy against corruption that a common person faces daily in police, roads, industry, licensing, transport, roadways, municipality, rations, health services, education, pension, provident funds, Panchayat, forest department, irrigation department, etc. On the other hand, Lokpal would have jurisdiction over ALL NGOs, trusts, societies like Resident Welfare Associations(RWAs), big or small, whether registered or unregistered, whether they receive government funding or not, up to the village level! For instance, consider a group of citizens that unearths corruption of the Sarpanch and Block Development officer (BDO) in a village. The government's Lokpal can't take any action against the Sarpanch or BDO but it CAN lock up the group of HONEST active CITIZENS. Each and every association, like Resident Welfare Associations, Market Associations, even your neighborhood committees that organize festivals like Durga Puja, Ramlila, etc. would be under the purview of Lokpal. While there is no disagreement that the rot of corruption is also afflicting many societies, associations and NGOs, there already exists a plethora of laws like the Trust Act, Societies Act, FCRA, etc. to monitor them. Lokpal was originally intended for checking corruption in public servants. Regardless, if it is being extended to all associations of civil society, then why shouldn't it also cover all companies, businesses, political parties, and media houses?

Government's Lokpal Provides Greater Protection to Corrupt!

Provisions in the government's Lokpal Bill heavily favour corrupt public servants. Under this bill, a public servant accused of corruption is allowed to turn around and file a lawsuit against the complainant accusing him of filing a frivolous complaint. The government will provide a free advocate to the accused to help prove the citizen was wrong, while the citizen has to fend for himself. If the complaint proves to be frivolous, the minimum sentence FOR THE CITIZEN is TWO YEARS. But if the corruption charges are proved, the minimum sentence for the public servant is just SIX MONTHS!
Will then any citizen dare raise a voice against corruption?

PLEASE FORWARD TO ALL YOU FRIENDS.

Question Anna, IAC out of Solipsism?

Several eminent writers and thinkers have started pouring in their opinion about the movement against corruption led by Anna Hazare, the Jan Lokpal bill and how and why it wont work. I am no authority over political science and governance but my commonsense makes me wonder why people of such repute and influence dont carefully examine the situation before writing opinion on blog, newspaper etc.

Let us take a close look at what has happened.

India Against Corruption movement has started (in recent past) with a letter and petition to our PM, which elaborates the deficiencies in the current anti corruption laws and government version of the proposed bill, which can be read here Unfortunately the PM never cared to reply nor our popular media seems to be concerned about this and gave the due attention to such a strong and relevant letter signed by respected members of the civil society. Infact I have never seen/heard of any interview/article about this petition by the leading media and newspaper agencies. Perhaps they are always bothered about what's happening/selling today and things which shape tomorrow does not seems to appeal them much, barring few exceptions ( cricket, bollywood, stock market). A comparison between government version and civil society version of bills can be foundhere ( a much recent article though) Surprisingly not many people including the intellingentsia seems to have covered widely about this version of bill and criticized government about introducing such meaningless bill.

On 8th Feb, Anna Hazare showed his concerns about deteriorating law and order conditions in Maharahstra. Once again not many people seems to be caring about what they said and what was happening. Some RTI activists were attacked in several parts of Maharashtra, a detailed article can be found here . Unfortunately some of the activists lost their life in Jan 2011 and no comments were released by CM, PM, Mrs. Gandhi or Sharad Pawar about such shameful acts which seems to undermine democracy. Another detailed article can be read here On 26h Feb, Anna Hazare declared that because India Against Corruption movement has not heard back from government and no seriousness is shown by government, he will sit on indefinite fast from 5th April. A news article can be found here

Though some skeptics ( can be ignored) questioned why he started fasting after the world cup victory perhaps were not aware of his announcement earlier and back in Feb this year nobody in India would have imagined that India will win the Cricket world cup. Some seems to question why fast ended the same day IPL started. They should ask this question to Congress and the government of India rather than India Against Corruption movement. IPL is a multibillion $ entity and its absolutely possible that some of the politicians have vested interests in the success of IPL. On first day of fast, Congress termed Anna's fast a premature. A detailed article can be read here A nice attempt by the government by outrightly rejecting the whole idea behind the IAC movement led by Anna Hazare and attempting to trivialize the whole idea behind taking strong measures against corruption. But Anna Hazare continued this fight, despite almost no support on day 1. As stated in this article Anna Hazare rightly stated that Congress is trying to mislead the people of India. Is misleading public using their high offices and power not attributable to a crime ? Perhaps people of India have been so immune and indifferent to blatant crime and corruption in every walks of life that the famous PR campaigns by state/ central governments, using their high offices to distort the facts and hence wrongly influencing the public opinion is not even considered a crime in India ( by media, public, opposition parties or even court).

Then Mr. Sharad Pawar resigns from the Group of Ministers working on anticorruption bill. He states that he's busy campaigning for state elections, as was also covered in newspapers But nobody seems to understand the simple fact that elections dates were announced a long back and so were IPL and Cricket World Cup final schedule was announced, so Mr. Pawar should have made his schedule accordingly then why he resigned only after IAC movement started rejecting the government proposals and infact started targeting this senior leader directly. Was he afraid of something ? Alas Mrs. Gandhi responds on 7th April ensuring that his demands will get full attention of the government. Why all of a sudden Mrs. Gandhi felt the need to respond and give full government attention to the matter after it has taken a shape of national movement? and Why not before or after ? So tackling corruption was not her/Congress agenda at all or were they having any effective alternate hidden plan? Was she worried more about the upcoming state elections than anything else? For sure she and the Congress knows the fact that masses generally vote based on popular consensus, near term events can have a damaging effect but was it too late already, was the damage to the image and hence the complete election campaign already being done and perhaps they were trying to save whatever they could ! And now Mr. Sibal steps up, a lawyer by profession and taking care of the Telecom ministry after the massive 2G scam by Mr.A.Raja. Congress and the Government of India was definitely trying hard to negotiate the terms and conditions, as can be read here But once again surprisingly nobody cared to question the government that What they were trying to negotiate with IAC - a little weaker Lokpal? perhaps lesser transparency as compared to what IAC was demanding or something else? While BJP and Shiv Sena extended support to IAC, some of their lone stalwarts tried to blemish Anna Hazare, but for sure they had their vested interests behind it and rightly they didn't got much media coverage. More can be read here In parallel a lot of celebrities came in support of Anna, some again out of vested interest and some like Anupam Kher out of genuine interest and concern about the matter. Unfortunately his house was stoned by hooligans, who all of us know were from which political party. I think in few more years these hooligans will loose all the little relevance and media coverage they still enjoy due to their glorious past, so I hope out of their own vested interests these hooligans learn to behave themselves in a civilized, democratic society else they will be obsolete/ extinct very soon.

Back to negotiations with a well educated lawyer Mr. Sibal goes invain. The government is not ready to issue official notification till 8th April and does not accept any member of civil society to chair the Lokpal. Nobody questions the intention of government even now, why were they so afraid to accept members of civil society to chair a committee responsible for drafting a bill ? Power lust is perhaps the ultimate sin, that too over others, that too ultimate, without any question. Why does a democratically elected government behaving like a dictator and wanted a absolute control over everything. In a later interview by Mr.Karan Thapar of Shri Arvind Kejriwal, Mr. Thapar repeatedly blames the IAC movement as an attempt to undermine democracy. If Mr. Thapar is such a true journalist by spirit then has he not raised questions when GOI tried and succeeded in doing the same so many times in the past by not responding to the petitions of IAC, by trying to negotiate with IAC on Lokpal framework, by trying to make Lokpal a complete dummy and by not doing anything to punish the corrupt in its 7 years of governance. And so after lot of negotiations IAC and government agrees for a Joint Committee with 2 chairman. I felt it was a equation because its important to have duly elected members as a part of this committee. Government also agrees to issue notification to this effect and Anna Hazare declares to end his fast. A much needed and well deserved victory for the people of India. Surprisingly the finally proposed members from GOI are veteran specialists in law, finance and governance, quiet a contrast with the originally proposed members of the committee ! Does this mean that government was not serious before and perhaps IAC movement made them realize the importance of this burning issue of corruption and an urgent to need to address this issue before 'they' sell the heart and soul of its people ( in addition to land, sea, air, minerals, food grains, fodder, arms and airplanes, dams, bridges, roads, airports and everything possible) to corruption !

Some analyst, writers and think tanks are calling the proposed Lokpal as draconian body, all encompassing and all powerful. How else do they intend to address the issue of corruption? Requests, articles, movies, petitions, RTI appeals, CBI, Police, Judiciary and Polity all have failed incredibly in addressing the issue pertaining to corruption by the high and mighty. Amidst the 5 day fast, CBI released yet another piece on nonsensical chargesheet on 2G scam continues its old tradition of working under political influence, submitting half prepared reports and eventually providing lot of time to the accused to take sufficient measures to find loopholes in the documents, procedures and finally get away with it. A good article on the efficacy and culture within CBI by Justice Verma can be read here How many cases against politicians, bureaucrats, high and mighty filed by CBI in past 60 years have been solved till date? What attempts have been made to recover the losses caused by that corrupt individual/ party and what subsequent measures have been taken to ensure that things dont get repeated? Ineffectiveness of CBI is a wide know fact, but was it considered even a issue worth contemplating by any of the governments/political parties in the recent past?

Lokpal will not be a magic wand, a solution to all the problems pertaining to corruption at all the levels in India. Indian democracy and society is way to complex and will pose many more challenges in tackling issues of national importance. We simply cannot afford anymore to hide behind our cultural lineage and diversity and keep complaining that we are like that only culturally or we cannot have all encompassing laws because of our diversity. Eventually We the people of India will have to make use of the provisions in Lokpal in addition to provisions in RTI and other similar acts which empower the people. Lokpal is just a beginnig in right direction, first step towards a path to tame the demon of corruption. If democractically elected politicians provide constructive inputs, a strong will to amend, frame and then pass the Lokpal bill and then of course several other similar laws which empower the law enforecement agencies, the judiciary to take corrective, punitive measures and whatever it takes to ensure that 'everybody' obeys and live by as per the laws of the land. IAC is a movement by the people, by right set of people with genuine intention to solve issues, they are open to suggestions, they have not done anything to gain publicity, they have not reached that stage overnight, they have been working in this field for years and they know the subject matter in great details. So let us not sabotage their efforts by complaining that all regions, religions, sects, race, color, ethinicity, state etc should be represented. Instead its time to come out of Solipsistic frame of mind and ask all the questions bubbling in our minds in a appropriate manner to IAC team AND ask the same set of rigorous questions to our democractically elected Block officers, MLAs, MPs and make a wise choice this time, thinking beyond the freebies and the proposed rate cuts which benefit us in the short term but have no long term significance whatsoever.

An appeal to India Media, Bollywood, Cricket team and Industry

A Humble Appeal.

Dear Indian Media,

We Indians sincerely Thank you for providing necessary support to this revolution against corruption. We really do hope that you will keep covering this revolution with same zest and vigor not only till the government agrees to form the committee but beyond that till the bill is actually implemented and we the common people of India are made aware/ learns how to approach Jan Lokpal, how to raise voice against corruption happening around them in their day to day life. At some point in time you might be tempted to give front page coverage to IPL, or something which you might perceive as more sensational in that particular second/hour/day. We hope that you will realize the need and potential of this movement based on not what it is today but what it can bring tomorrow for all of us. You have a role to play and perhaps might be required to keep aside the profit making moves, motives and news for a few days but be rest assured the people of India will definitely reward you for your insights, updates and transparency about this movement against corruption. So please maintain your focus, the media space it deserves considering the national importance of this matter for generations to come above and beyond the monthly TRP ratings.

Dear Bollywood and Indian Cricket team,

We are thankful you for your relentless efforts and dedication in entertaining us and for keeping our spirits high despite a mundane life, despite all the pressure, tensions and worries about trivial things such as food, water, electricity, clothes etc. he popular platform you have provided will definitely provide a fertile ground to many other forms of arts, entertainment and sports in years to come. We really hope that you appreciate the love and fan following and the associated rewards ( money, life style and perhaps a different kind of stress) you have gained over and above the fixed income/fee and tax rebates. We now humbly request you to use the available privileges at your disposal to support this movement against Corruption led by Anna Hazare and encourage more and more people to be a part of it. We also hope that with your talent and skills you will be able to keep the spirits of the masses high amidst such demanding situation and in conjugation with media will come out with some encouraging posters, slogans, banners, short films, documentaries, songs which can make people realize what they really deserve and what they have been getting over the years from our government. We know your prime responsibility is of sports and entertainment but perhaps its sometime important to rise above the routine ( as we sometimes do by watching your movies more than once and standing in a Que for hours to get your glimpse etc) and contribute back actively to the society for the common good of all the members. Unfortunately more than 400 million people in India still have to put an immense fight to earn the livelihood for the day despite of billions of Rs/ $ being spent on development schemes. So a corruption free society is bound to improve the living conditions of those millions some of whom might be able to join your ranks or at the least will be able to enjoy what you do, some day.

Dear Industry Leaders, Visionaries and Gurus,

Despite a minimal government support you have worked towards the growth of this society, economy and the industry. Unfortunately several state and central governments have been taking credit of your efforts but we the people know who are the real hero behind the India shining story. At some point in time smart and educated people amongst you might have been harassed by a bureaucrat or a politician who's not worth a dime otherwise and do not deserve to even talk to you. Over past 20 years, you have shown the power and prowess of Indian businesses all across the world and have generated huge employment opportunities which government has never ever thought of in distant dreams. This is our humble appeal to leverage your good offices and resources available so as to support this movement. You can write to several offices in government to especially look into this particular case and give consent to the Jan Lokpal bill. This country needs you now more than ever to play a more active role in politics and civic societies. If some of you can come forward and join the movements such as India Against Corruption and Loksatta . The times have changed and people of India will definitely vote in your favor. the best support you can extend is fostering a culture of complete no to corruption at all levels within your organizations internally and also externally while dealing with government agencies, clients and vendors alike. Initially you might face some loss ( decrease in profits) in business but for sure over a long term this practice will bring in unforeseen rewards to your organization and to the society at large. So in order to benefit your business over a long term and in order to make the system more easy to deal with, people and business friendly please support this bill, this movement and Anna in best of your capabilities.

To All

All of us are insanely capable of critically analyzing the situations and taking decisions which in long term will benefit us as an individual and as a society at large. However when all of us collectively take decisions after a complex series of interactions between various stakeholders of the society, we always tend to distrust the others ( the other people, the other stakeholders in the society) and take decisions which benefits us and our immediate family in the short term

(fearing that whatever is planned for long term might not actually materialize). And so this bill is important because it will bring in transparency in the system and will have sufficient ways and means to punish the corrupt and thus setting strong precedence for others. Since this bill will empower the citizens of India to file complaint against bureaucrats and government officers who ask for bribes and do not behave as per books, the general habit of casual corruption amongst the masses will also go away/significantly reduce over a period of time. So please come forward and support this bill, this movement, Anna Hazare for our own personal interest.

PS: this appeal does not mean that the people of India necessarily needs support from any/all of the above mentioned agencies, but since these people too are part of the same society and are well respected by the people, their small efforts will go a long way in support of this movement.