A force to be reckoned with

The small minority of India which can boast of having endured seventy monsoons (or sometimes the lack of it), will admit to being in the grip of a most unbelievable nostalgia. Unbelievable because even the Mahatma himself would have thought it unlikely that India would witness such uprisings as he had engineered, but the recent Anna-led mass agitations qualify.

The similarities are striking. Peace is the common mantra, fasts, the primary weapon and the prison, a common catalyst. For it all started when in the early hours of August 16, Anna Hazare was taken into police custody and whisked to Tihar jail. Previously he had announced that he would begin his fast unto death on August 16 itself demanding that the government pass the Jan Lokpal bill. As was expected, the government panicked. The seemingly needless and arbitrary arrest was all that an already simmering multitude needed to be kindled into action. Political experts across the board have panned the government over the hasty arrest of Anna, contending that the UPA has effectively dug its own grave.

The government quickly realised that keeping Anna in jail would only fuel the flames. Unfortunately for the government, Anna wasn’t oblivious to the fact. He decided to stay put in jail until the government agreed to allow him to go ahead with his fast. Three days after the arrest, Anna was greeted by a humongous crowd upon his release. The sheer number of protesters that took to the streets was staggering.

Equally remarkable was and is the extent of involvement of the students in the protests. Delhi University has more than played its part. Classes were bunked, slogans shouted, mobile phones were inundated with texts and consequently mindless arrests have also been made. But DU is making sure that the world knows where its heart lies. Neither is this support mindless, as Nikhil, a student of Sri Venkateswara College informs us, “Our protest is simply to wake the government, which somehow believes that it can get away with anything. I believe that Anna’s movement is exactly what this country needed. Not to say that his proposal is flawless, never the less, it shows the general direction in where we should be headed.”

The overwhelming support coupled with the government’s slip ups, have infused renewed vigour into the steadfastly aggressive ‘Team Anna’. Anna, six days into his fast unto death, has issued an ultimatum, demanding that the bill be passed latest by August 30. Echoing the angst of his supporters, Anna said, “The Jan Lokpal Bill is just the beginning. India needs another revolution, the August revolution.

The youth needs to remember that I may die, but this flame should never get extinguished.”

Whether Anna’s ambitious plans for the ‘August Revolution’ come to fruition or not, the UPA has been rattled out of its wits. The stern resolute stance has given way to soft compromise. Top government officials have extended heartfelt invitations to Anna to discuss and arrive at a compromise but team Anna is unwavering that there can be no compromise on the issue of corruption. Legal experts and intellectuals believe that both the government’s and Anna’s version of the bill are imperfect and the way forward is compromise. The official version is said to be too meek while Anna’s, too drastic and strong. Given the circumstances, if such deliberations were to take place, team Anna would surely hold the bargaining chip in the form of mass support.