I’m outraged by the government’s reaction to Anna Hazare’s protest. So far, there has been no indication whatsoever that this group of people is going to turn violent. The police’s entire argument rests on that fact – that people will start rioting and breaking things. If that was true, then indeed they must put a stop to it. But only if they have credible reason to believe that. You can’t just use the excuse that a protest might turn violent in order to stop it. Your reasons have to stand up in court. And based on what I’ve seen so far, there are absolutely no such reasons.
What enrages me even more, is that the government turns a blind eye to really violent protests which inconvenience the public. A few months ago, a Khap group staged a rally, blocked trains and threatened to stop the flow of water to Delhi and starve it of vegetables. That is the kind of protest which needs to be stopped. But what did the government do? Nothing. They didn’t arrest the leaders for making such threats. They didn’t prevent the protest from happening which went on for several days.
Every Tom, Dick and Harry can go on a violent protest with mobs, waiving sticks, blocking roads, damaging property and disrupting supply lines. The government sits quietly, no one is arrested and no one is jailed. Such groups have political backing. Ordinary citizens don’t do these things. But when people really protest in a quiet and peaceful manner, only then does the government discover laws such as section 144 etc which are exercised in a completely arbitrary manner.
The police it seems has the balls to only stop peaceful protests. They can’t stop thugs with political backing. They show their mettle, their discipline, their concern for “peace” only when the citizens themselves are taking out a peaceful, and non political rally.
This must stop. If Hazare’s protest is held up by the police, I never again want to see another group in this country holding a rally and inconveniencing people without the leaders being put behind bars and every single one of those loud mouth thugs being arrested. If nothing else, this is the outcome I wish for.
While I’m at it I would also like to see the police object to every VIP having the right to block the road and disrupt our lieves as part of their god given right to escape the traffic that the rest of us face every day. I want the police to actually start caring about the people instead of only pretending to do so when their political masters tell them to.
:D Please pardon my rambling below.. I wanted to ramble somewhere..
Agreed.. I was not really in support of thousands of people doing candle light vigils and other such stuff.. because it was all a media circus.. I know Congress.. I know their history.. I know their leaders.. I expect nothing better out of them.. I was tuning this news out all the time because of the portrayal in Media and other blogs of how Kapil Sibal is a trustworthy guy.. oh the great chidambaram the harvard return and all such nonsense.. This government is all about corruption from the top.. it has given leverage to, even, oh so clean politicians like Chidabaram to indulge in all kinds of corruption.. The whole holier than thou stands taken by news channels irritated me so much, the whole noise about being custodians of democracy..
But today I feel outraged.. not because all the arm chair activists and the suddenly awake general public feel outraged about corruption.. I feel outraged because, we still dont understand the politician-government-media nexus, we believe that because ours is open economy and have this whole industry of media with the 24 hour news cycle, we feel as if our political class have transformed.. They have not.. nothing has changed in our feudal country.. It is still feudal.. Just the centers of power have been distributed.. anyone today who is someone in any party has the leverage to create ruckus and harm our lives..
okay there ends my pointless rambling..
In reply to sakthi
Sorry for not replying earlier – didn’t see your comment!
The general attitude of people so far has been resignation because no one believed that anything would actually change. The biggest development so far as far as I’m concerned is that the powerful have been shown to be not invincible.
For the first time in a long time, people actually feel they can make a difference.
I have differences over the Jan Lok Pal bill while accepting that the govt bill was pretty much toothless. I have a huge problem with suicide as a political tool for agitation (fast unto death). I would like this settled in parliament, the proper forum with civil society, team anna or any other, able to lobby and agitate peacefully and non-violently (threatening to kill oneself unless one’s goals are conceded is not non-violence in my book, self-violence is acceptable in individual contexts but not when linked to external events and attempting to influence them). I even accept that the police can impose reasonable restrictions on protest movements in the interests of general safety, while agreeing with you that mostly they fail to do so.
But the govt is forcing me into the Anna camp. I feel obliged to choose between the two now and right now my choice could not be clearer.
I am Spartacus.
thanks
Jai
In reply to Jai_C
The government could have diffused this whole thing by introducing a strong Lokpal bill. But like you said, right now the people have no choice by to support Hazare’s movement.
The Hazare camp is also showing themselves up to be jokers with a surface thin crust of not always reason. Another party joins the ‘no alternative’ list – do you see how now if you disagree with some of the Hazare camp’s points, you are pro-corruption and entrenched part of establishment?
The Government’s trying to force me into the Hazare camp and the Hazare camp’s keeping me out with its arrogance and inflexibility. Net net, no resolution, more days of Parliament lost, more hours spent fire fighting than policy setting. And the middle/lower/upper classes continue to bribe and get stuff done….parallel tracks that people are not able to connect up. What’s up with that?
In reply to Sangitha
For me the biggest takeaway from all this is that the myth of the middle class not caring is shattered. In a few years, the middle class will be 50% of the country and not a group any politician can ignore.
Perhaps then some serious discourse can take place.
In reply to bhagwad
Bhagwad, I do not want to disturb your utopian dream, but last heard ITians from B’lore just protested for an hour and did not fill up jails.. The ones who filled up the jails were not the so called “middle class”..
In reply to sakthi
Sorry Sakthi, didn’t quite get the reference. Which utopian dream are you referring to?
In reply to bhagwad
I want to see action – the middle class is notorious for noise and no action. After all the noise in Bombay after the blasts, voter turnout in the elections (not that far away in time) was 40%.
Caring without anything but complaints (and bribing to contribute to that problem pretty regularly) is of no use. So I see a lakh heads walking in Bombay on a holiday (Janmashtami), what does it really translate into except exercise?!
In reply to Sangitha
For years people said the middle class could only talk. They would never actually come onto the streets. Now they’ve shown they care more about such issues and are willing to come onto the streets and go to jail.
What else is required as far as action goes? That’s more action than any other “non middle class” segment has ever done! What’s going on now counts as action for me.
Going to vote is action. This is populism and feel good. Change happens when people commit in every day life. This is a good start. But just that. And they didn’t go to jail….the government’s just being tarred bad guy this much because we work well with binary and black and white. The media’s going nuts, now one way, next moment the other.
I wish I could say this was action and what it took but sensible voices are being drowned out and that is not a good thing in the (short and) long run.
In reply to Sangitha
I think action is action – whether it’s voting or going onto the streets. It’s impossible to steer things the way we’d like them to and say this is good and that is bad. People will do what they feel like doing and I’m very happy that the myth of the uncaring middle class has been busted.
Not a question of steering, a question of doing. Not saying this is bad, though I am not behind the fasting even one bit. Or the arrogance of the Hazare team. We need a Lokpal.
This is more like what I am talking about and something I would say will evict corruption more than a Lokpal.
http://www.aagaaz.org/itsmyturn.php
There’s nothing to be shocked about, rather I am shocked about your idea that government should have allowed the protest without any politics, government will certainly not accept any lokpal or janlokpal and it has a certain reason behind it. the reason is, Government Doesn’t Like Competition.
At present, government holds all the power to rule, govern and control people and also on making laws and implementing or breaking those laws. If Janlokpal is allowed, it will be another center of power to implement laws (which are mostly ridiculous and anti-individual) and it will also have power to compete and in fact win over the politicians and ministers in the race of corruption.
I don’t know about the intentions of Anna Hajare, he may or may not be a good person, I don’t care. Some people say that he is old and hence I should respect, but they should realize that even Gaddaffi is old so should we respect Gaddaffi and even Osama Bin Laden was old, he didn’t gain any respect for being old. I am certainly not saying that Anna Hajare is bad person, I am just saying that I don’t know about his intentions.
Yet I assume that he is a kind heart good and lets say honest person who really wants to remove corruption because he thinks corruption increases wastage and brings poverty.,
I am sorry but I cannot agree with him, even if he is honest, he is not intelligent enough to understand the root cause of corruption and rather than trying to understand the cause of corruption, he is trying to establish that corruption is the cause of Poverty which is not. Rather corruption is an effect of poverty and scarcity.
I will support N R Narayanmurthy (Infosys chairman) though and will assert that we should make bribe giving legal. It is very necessary for Indians to legalize bribe giving specially when government is certainly not ready to let important sectors privatized and to liberate Indian society.
Bribing increases the efficiency of the government offices and officers. If a traffic cop catches you breaching traffic laws, y0u pay him extra money to avoid a traffic ticket. Its so common and its so good, it actually prevents many accidents. How? Since the traffic cop gets the incentive of extra money, he pays more attention on catching and preventing people from committing traffic mistakes by breaking laws. He certainly gains lot of bribe, but Indians save themselves from road accidents.
Allow janlokpal and a way to punish traffic cop for taking bribes, but it won’t stop corruption because bribe giving is not corruption it is just a way to increase efficiency. In absence of any incentive, the cop will become stagnant, he won’t be alert enough and people will start enjoying crashes on roads.
Same will be the case of hospitals. Pay bribe to a wardboy and get a hospital bed to get your urgent heart or kidney transplant. If janlokpal restricts wardboy or doctor from taking bribe, you just can’t get a bed and get cured, why? there is one doctor to serve 1 lakh Indian patients and there are merely 30 beds for a population of 1 lakh.
Scarcity or poverty is the root cause of corruption and scarcity is because of ill-policies of government like taxation and redistribution of wealth.
So what will be the effect of Janlokpal if accepted and implemented? It will increase red tapism, more 28000 people will add to the robbers gang of bureaucrats/government servants and politicians., Rahul Gandhi already announced making Janlokpal as a committee like ED to add 28000 more persons in the gang of 1.25 Crore people who make laws and implement them to control dominate and rule over 121 crore Indians.
To end corruption, Indians need to reduce government size and reduce bureaucracy and red tapism but Anna and his team are trying to increase it. Anna is against Mahatma Gandhi because Gandhiji supported decentralization of power, and Anna is demanding Centralization of power, all power to hear complaints, investigate and punish anyone under Lokpal. its ridiculously against Gandhian thoughts who even hated the idea of parliament and Mahatma Gandhi said, “If India copies England, it is my firm conviction that she will be ruined. Parliaments are merely emblems of slavery. ” While he considered the Individual as the smallest minority, he also criticized the majority democracy of America and said, “It is a superstition and an ungodly thing to believe that an act of a majority binds a minority
In reply to Unpretentious Diva
Actually, the lokpal is about punishing corruption and not preventing it. At this point the focus is not on stopping it from happening but punishing those who indulge in it in a transparent and time bound manner.
There may be many root causes of murder and the punishment for murder might be ineffective in preventing it in the first place. But we need to have a punishment and punitive system regardless. The same is true of corruption.
How will they make sure that the Lokpal people are not corrupt? If CBI is ineffective under government, how will they make sure it is effective under lokpal?
It is all wishful thinking. Anna team is refusing to see the reality of implementation and is only looking at the idealistic view.
In reply to other
I think there are checks and safeguards in the Lokpal bill – should read it to check whether or not this question is answered.
@ Other,
Yes there is not guarantee about honesty of lokpal and yes Janlokpal bill is a false idea.
Yet Anna Hajare is doing a hidden good for India, he is explaining Indians that government is coercive and democracy is falsehood. Soon Indians will also be at least that much alert and attentive towards their life, liberty and pursuit of happiness as an average intellectual person must. Ultimately public will start opposing governmental regulation and will startr demanding freedom, liberalization and limited, least or no government and a free society with proper individual liberty with privacy is the goal of any civilization. Unknowingly Anna is doing good by revealing the nature of government.
@ Bhagwad
I am shocked to realize that you feel there is no punishing law against corruption. Not only bribe taking, bribe giving is also a punishable act and it is very NECESSARY to legalize bribe giving because it increases efficiency and promptness in governmental works. In private sector, there is no need to bribe. You are also a freelancer, why will you not do the task you are appointed for with appropriateness and promptness and why will you ask any bribe for that? You may ask for more charges, but that won’t be bribe, you may ask for bonus but that won’t be called as extra money. It is true that even private sector is not free of corruption, yet being a freelancer you must realize that in free market only that producer/service provider wins who works hard honestly while being innovative and appropriate.
There are MORE THAN ENOUGH LAWS against corruption in India but the real problem is, people just don’t understand what is corruption. Corruption is taxation, collectivism, robbery of Individual’s hard earned money on the name social security/social welfare.
Anyways, I have seen many honest people being caught and punished for being punished, they were framed. Same will happen when these more drastic and draconian laws proposed by Anna Hajare and his foul team will be accepted. The honest and innocent will suffer because criminals always have a way to enjoy freedom because of their nexus with bureaucracy/government/politicians. Make new set of dictators and name it Janlokpal, they will also collaborate with same nexus. Many Indians may not realize this fact now, in fact they will deride me for saying this, but they will have to accept this truth after say 5 or 10 years of the implementation of this idiotic bill.
Corruption is the effect of poverty/scarcity, scarcity/poverty can be removed only by increasing production, production of capital, not of restritctive laws that reduces the rate of production by increasing cost of production.
Haven’t you watched GURU? Why will you want an India with no Dhiru Bhai Ambani and not an India with a Dhiru Bhai Ambani? Watch Guru again, it is the best movie which valid in present context.
In reply to Unpretentious Diva
As of now there are too many restrictions against punishing a corrupt bureaucrat – the lokpal bill will do away with all that. So we certainly need a better system than the one we have now.
Many independent and powerful bodies are doing great work in India – like the EC and the Judiciary. So creating an independent body by itself is not a bad thing. There are checks and balances in the lokpal bill to deal with rogue members.
“I am certainly not saying that Anna Hajare is bad person, I am just saying that I don’t know about his intentions.” – Not sure why people are concerned about Hazare.
Hazare is an enabler, the important entity is Lokpal Bill. People need to read the Lokpal bill and then judge based on it. If there are any issues they should bring it up, find a solution for it.
In reply to prashanth
Agreed. Hazare is irrelevant. This is not about the person but the issue.